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COI'YHIC.IIT DKPOSIT. 



A COUNTRY READER 

BOOK ONE 



••rije^^^o. 



A COUNTRY READER 



BOOK ONE 



BY 



H. B. M. BUCHANAN, A.B. 



1) 

AND 



ARNOLD V. STUBENRAUCH 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE 
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd, 
1906 

All rights reserved, 



LIBRARY ofCONGRF.SS 

Two Conies Received 

JUN 26 »906 

f) Gopyrignt Entry 

(^ /Class 66 , xxc. no^ 

COPY B. 



HEN 




Copyright, 1906, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1906. 



J. S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
I^orwood, Masso, U.S.A. 



PREFACE 

In preparing this American edition of Mr. 
Buchanan's Country Readers, I have tried 
throughout to preserve the simple language of 
the English author. Naturally, many changes 
were necessary to make the book suitable for 
our American schools. Volume I is devoted 
entirely to farm animals, an arrangement which 
I think is hio-hlv desirable. Volume II will 
deal with the soil and crops. 

As Mr. Buchanan states in his preface to the 
English edition, this book is not intended for very 
young children, but for the older children of 
both our rural and city schools ; children who 
are able to read and understand the meaning 
of ordinary English words. 

The value of reading — especially of reading 
aloud — in training the young mind is, I think, 
recognized by all. It is the aim of these readers 
to assist in this valuable training by presenting 
correct information about those thing;s around 
us which we have found to be especially inter- 
esting to the child. 



6 PREFACE 

Children are interested in the natural objects 
with which they come in daily contact, and 
especially are they interested in animals and 
plants. We wish to hold and cultivate this 
natural interest by explaining things which the 
child can observe for itself, and which we hope 
may be of some practical use in the child's future 
life. AYe wish to create a desire to know more. 
The information given is therefore not intended 
to take the place of personal observation. The 
reading lessons should be supplemented by 
talks by the teacher, so that j)ersonal observa- 
tion may be still further encouraged ; for, after 
all, this is the most effective method of obtain- 
intj^ knowledge which will be retained without 
effort. 

If there can be aroused in children's minds a 
personal and kindly interest in the animals and 
plants they see living and growing around them, 
and if some knowledge is given them of the part 
that each plays in the economy of the world's 
w^ork, it will add to the interest in life, and 
therefore relieve all work, especially work in the 
country, of much of its weariness and monotony. 

Due acknowledgment must be made for valu- 
able assistance obtained by reference to the fol- 
lowing works: Farmers' Bulletins, Nos. 96, 100, 
106, 137, 141, 143, 159, and 184, of the United 
States Department of Agriculture ; " Keeping 



PREFACE 7 

Goats for Profit," by Almont Barnes, in the 
Yearbook of the United States Department of 
Agriculture for 1898 ; " Mohair and Mohair 
Manufacture," by G. F. Thompson, in the Year- 
book for 1901 ; Bulletin 76 of the Mississippi 
Agricultural Experiment Station ; Curtis' s 
" Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and Swine," and vari- 
ous articles in the " Farmers' Cycloposdia of 

Agriculture." 

ARNOLD V. STUBENRAUCH. 

University of California, 
Berkeley, May, liX)6. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



THE HORSE 15 

Ancestors of the Horse; The Racmg Horse; The 
Trotter; The Riding Horse; The Carriage Horse; 
The Draught Horse ; The Ponies ; Pony Express ; How 
to stable a Horse; Grooming and Feeding; How to 
treat a Horse ; A Few Facts about All Horses ; The 
Use of a Long Tail ; Out in the Field. 

THE DONKEY 65 

Extinct Ancestors ; Horse and Ass compared; The 
Stubbornness of an Ass — a Suggestion. 

THE MULE 78 

THE COW . 80 

Wild Cattle; Milk; How to make Butter; Churn- 
ing; How Cheese is made; How a Breed is formed 
and kept True; Breeds of Dairy Cattle in America; 
Straight Dairy Breeds: The Jersey, the Holstein- 
Friesian, the Ayrshire, the Guernsey, Dutch Belted, 
Kerry or Irish Cattle ; Beef Breeds : The Hereford, 
Aberdeen-Angus, Texas Cattle; General Purpose or 
Dual Purpose Breeds: The Shorthorn, Polled Dur- 
ham, the Devon, Red Polled ; How to treat a Cow. 

THE SHEEP 142 

Wild Sheep; Rocky Mountain Sheep; Wild Habits 
still Linger; The Sheep of the Farm; The Sheep of 
the Range; About Wool; Breeds of Sheep: the 
Merinos, Horned Dorsets, Cheviots, Southdowns, 
Shropshires, Hampshires, Oxfordshires, Cotswolds, 
Leicesters, Lincolns; Care and Feeding of Sheep; 
Diseases. 

9 



10 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE GOAT 187 

Wild Goats ; Intelligence and Climbing ; The 
Uses of Goats; Dairy Breeds; Fleece Breeds. 

THE PIG 204 

The Wild Pig ; A Pig's Shape ; A Pig's Fat saves 
its Life ; Why Pigs are Greedy ; Reason for a Long 
and Powerful Snout; Is a Pig a Dirty Animal? 
Breeds of Pigs : Berkshires, Poland-Chinas, Chester 
Whites, Duroc-Jerseys. 

POULTRY 232 

Wild Fowl; Poultry on the Farm ; Housing; Feed- 
ing; How Fowls digest Food; Do Fowls Pay? 

THE DOG 255 

The W^ild Dog ; Expressions of a Dog's Tail ; Why 
Dogs are Sociable; Different Breeds of Dogs; How 
to train Sheep Dogs. 

THE CAT 283 

The Cat Family — Distinctive Characteristics ; 
Where first Domesticated; Domesticated Cat; Cat 
and Dog Compared. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Hipparion or Geologic Horse 

Skeleton of the Horse . 

Thoroughbred 

Trotting Horse . 

Trotting Horse in Action . 

A Riding Horse . 

Horse in Act of Leaping 

A Good Coacher . 

Draught Horse 

A Shetland Pony 

A Bronco .... 

A Model Modern Stable 

Wild Horse captured in Central Asia 

The African Wild Ass 

Burros ..... 

Diagram of the Cow . 

English Wild Cow 

Calf of the Wild Cow . 

The Bison .... 

A Separator 

Barrel Power Churn . 

Jerseys .... 

Ayrshire Cow 

Dexter Kerry Cow 

Aberdeen- Angus Bull " Champion Di 

Prize Shorthorns 

Red Polled Cattle 

Devon Cattle 

Black-faced Mountain Sheep 

Rocky Mountain Sheep 

11 



az 



PAGE 

19 
23 

24 

27 

28 

31 

32 

35 

38 

40 

42 

45 

65 

68 

76 

81 

84 

84 

87 

93 

95 

110 

120 

125 

130 

134 

137 

137 

143 

145 



12 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Wool Fiber . 

Merino Sheep 

Southdown Sheep 

Shropshire Sheep 

Oxfordshire Sheep 

Cotswold Sheep , 

Border Leicester Sheep 

Lincohi Sheep 

The Wild Goat . 

Goat and Kid 

Angora Goat 

Cashmere Goat . 

Wild Boar . 

Large White Chester 

Indian Jungle Fowls 

Buii'-Orpington . 

Black Minorca 

White Leghorn . 

Plymouth Rock . 

Light Brahma 

Silver Wyandottes 

Buff Cochin 

Incubator 

An Out-door Brooder 

Foxhounds . 

Coursing Greyhound 

Pointer 

Setter . 

Curly Coated Retriever 

Mastiff 

Great Dane . 

Newfoundland Dog 

Bulldog 

Eskimo Dog 

Scotch Collie 

St. Bernard . 

Black Pug . 



PAGE 

162 
165 
169 
171 
174 
176 
178 
180 
188 
195 
197 
198 
205 
228 
2:33 
234 
235 
236 
237 
238 
239 
240 
251 
252 
258 
265 
267 
267 
268 
270 
271 
272 
273 
274 
277 
280 
281 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



13 



Head of House Cat 
Head of WiJd Cat 
Head of Canada Lvnx 
The Tiger . 
Tlie Leopard 
Kitten and Tiger Skin 
A Handsome Cat 
Persian Cat . 



PAGE 

283 
283 
284 
286 
287 
288 
289 
293 



A COUI^TRY READER 

FARM ANIMALS 
CHAPTER I 

THE HORSE 

* 

The horse has been the servant of man for 
a very long time ; so long is it, that we have 
no written record of when it began, but we do 
know that at one time the horse led a wild life 
and wandered in large herds over the great 
plains of the world. 

When horses lived in this wild state, they 
had many enemies who tried to kill and eat 
them, but their special enemy was the grim 
gray wolf, with his never ending hunger and 
slow but untiring gallop. 

Let us now try to picture a scene of those 
long bygone days. 

We see a wide, undulating plain, stretching 
as far as the eye can reach, a phiin mostly hard 
and dusty, with dry, wiry grass growing here 
and there ; and we see a herd of wild horses 

15 



16 A COUNTRY READER 

wandering about not far from each other, try- 
ing to satisfy their hunger with the dry, scanty 
herbage. And as we look we see a pack of 
hungry wolves, which are trying every device 
to creep as near to the horses as possible with- 
out being seen by them. 

At last one of the horses, the leader or the 
lookout horse it may be, because of his keen 
eyesight, or because of his quick sense of smell, 
discovers his natural enemies, the wolves. Then 
with a loud snort and stamp of the forefoot, and 
with tail high in the air, he trots toward his 
companions. These signals of alarm are well 
understood by the herd, which at once ceases 
grazing, collects together, and gallops in a body 
toward the horizon. 

Then the chase becrins. 

The wolves, with noses to the ground and 
tails in the air, strive to come up with their 
prey. These clever animals are up to all sorts 
of devices to accomplish this. The pack will 
divide. One portion will follow on the direct 
trail of the horses, another portion will try to 
head the horses off, so that they may turn them 
back. Some, after a time, will lie down to rest, 
while others will endeavor to bring the herd 
of horses round to where the resting wolves 
are lying in concealment, so that a fresh relay 
of rested wolves may take up the chase with 



THE HORSE 17 

renewed vigor. The swiftest, soundest, and 
strongest horses are sure to escape, but the 
wolves hope that in the herd there may be 
one or more a little lame, short winded, or a 
little out of condition. The wolves have learned 
from experience that if there be such an unfor- 
tunate horse, it will not be able to keep up with 
the rest, but will go slower and slower in pace, 
till it lags behind its companions. The hungry 
wolves with their steady, untiring gallop will 
approach nearer and nearer, until the unsound 
or slower horse is dragged down, killed, and 
eaten by its pursuers. 

Now j^ou can at once understand by this little 
imaginary scene, that in the course of numbers 
and numbers of years the weak and unsound 
horses would be unable to escape their enemies, 
while those horses that were keenest of eve- 
sight, quickest of hearing, soundest in wind, 
swiftest in pace, hardest in endurance, strongest 
in leg, would survive. 

So it will be seen how this continuous de- 
struction of the weaker members of the herds, 
together with the hard life on the immense 
plains which formed the greater part of Europe 
and Asia, helped very slowly and very gradually 
to perfect that form of life which we call a 
horse, — a form of life suitable for man to use 
in his wars, in his hunting, for his pleasure 



18 ' A COUNTRY READER 

in riding and driving, and for helping him to 
cultivate his fields, and for drawing his heavy 
loads. 

We do not know when man began to use the 
horse as his servant. Nor can we say for cer- 
tain what was the exact color and appearance 
of these wild horses, because we possess no 
picture or written description of them as they 
wandered in their wild state. But some of their '^ 
bones have been found. These have been })ieced 
together by learned and clever men, and are now 
to be seen in our museums. 1 

The Ancestors of the Horse 

Not only has it been possible to find out what 
was the size and general appearance of the wild 
horses of remote times by a study of the bones 
which have been found, but the character of the 
23rehistoric ancestors of the horse has been de- 
termined by a close and painstaking study of the 
fossil bones found in many instances embedded in 
the rocks. Gradually the fossil bones gathered 
here and there have been placed together by 
scientific men who have devoted their lives to 
this difficult work, which we call the science of 
Paheontology. 

According to the fossils, the ancestor of the 
whole horse family Avas an animal about the size 
of a fox^ wliich walked with four toes on the front 



THE HORSE 



19 



leg:s and three toes on the hmd leo;s. As time 
went on and external conditions changed, this 
ancestral type, not larger than a fox, gradually 
developed into a form about the size of a sheep 




HIPPARION OB GEOLOGIC HORSE. 



or goat, which walked on three toes on both hind 
and fore feet. In course of time this form of ver- 
tebrate -life treading the earth on three toes on 
each foot, was succeeded by a more direct ances- 
tor of the horse, which in Europe is called the 
Plipparion. The Hipparion horse ancestor also 
possessed three toes, but only the middle one 
reached the ground ; the other two toes on 



20 A COUNTRY READER 

each foot himg uselessly above, and on each, side 
of the toe which came to the ground. 

In the modern horse the useless hanging toes 
have entirely disappeared from the outside, and 
can be found only by feeling for the " splints " or 
rudimentary bones under the skin. The useful toe 
has gradually become rounded and strengthened 
and now forms the only support of the present- 
day horse, so what we now designate as the hoof 
is merely the development of the third remain- 
ing toe inherited from the ancient form of horse 
and modified to meet existing conditions. 

Another set of appendages which are not now 
of any discernible use, but which are possessed 
by members of the horse family, are the black 
callous pads or '' chestnuts " on the inside of the 
front and hind legs. The ass has two of these 
chestnuts high up above the knees on the fore 
legs. The horse has four : one on each fore leg 
just above the knee, and. one on each hind leg 
just below the hock. These pads are found on 
wild horses and asses, and were, no doubt, of 
some use to the early ancestral forms. We can 
only conjecture what this use was, but it is 
supposed that the pads were originally glands, 
secreting some odorous substance, by which 
strayed members of the herd were enabled to 
regain their companions. That these pads are 
odorous is borne out by observation. Their 



THE HORSE 21 

usefulness has long since disappeared, but they 
remain as inheritances from past prehistoric 
ancestors, and thus they aid us in tracing the 
evolution of the modern animals. 

The wild horse had to live and exist on hard, 
dry plains with very little natural shelter, with 
water scarce and with fodder tough and wiry. 

What structure better ada^^ted to meet these 
conditions than the horse, with his great rounded 
third toe, or hoof, on the ground, together with his 
keen senses of sight and hearing, his well-pro- 
portioned frame and highly developed brain, and 
above all his speed, which on the slightest cause 
for alarm enabled him to distance all enemies. 

The horse family includes not only the horse 
but also the ass and the zebra. The horse's call 
is the well-known neigh. The ass brays. The 
zebra makes a noise something between the bray 
of the ass and the neigh of the horse. 

Was the appearance of these animals always 
as we see them to-day ? The scientists have 
been able to piece the fossil bones together, thus 
giving us some idea of the form and the outline 
of the skeleton. But the fossils can give no idea 
of the color or outward appearance of these 
ancient animals. 

We have seen that the fossil ancestor of the 
horse family was an animal about the size of a 
fox. From this ancestor there gradually evolved 



22 A COUNTRY READER 

the three forms which we now know as the 
horse, the ass, and the zebra. These different 
forms were produced by individuals being placed 
under different sets of conditions. Thus one 
set of conditions evolved the distinct horse 
line, another set the distinct ass line, while still 
another set was responsible for the zebra line of 
evolution. 

That these different forms are descended from 
a common type of ancestor is jDroved by the 
fact that wild horses have been captured which 
strongly resemble the ass. The form and ap- 
pearance of the tail of these animals is par- 
tially that of the horse and the ass. Like the 
ass they had a black stripe down the middle of 
their backs. • They had little or no forelock and 
the mane hung only partially. The head was 
large and the feet were distinctly ass-like. 

No doubt many of our readers have seen a 
zebra, and will therefore remember his charac- 
teristic stripes. Some may have noticed also 
distinct zebra-like stripings on the front legs of 
some donkeys, especially when young. 

We have thus seen that there are horses which 
have ass-like characteristics, and there are also 
asses with distinct zebra-like markings. These 
points, coupled with the fact of the similarity of 
the structure of their bones, may be taken as posi- 
tive evidence of their close relationship. 



THE HORSE 



23 



Just as different conditions have brought 
changes great enough to produce the horse, the 
ass, and the zebra, so have the development and 




SKELETON OF THE HORSE. 

1. Eye cavity; 2. Face bones; 3. Incisor teetli ; 4. Molar teeth; 
5. Lower jaw ; 6. First vertebra of neck ; 7. Second vertebra of neck ; 
8. Cervical vertebra? ; 9. Si)inal processes of back ; 10. Dorsal and 
lumbar vertebra^ : 11. Sacrum ; 12. Tail bones ; 13. Shoulder blade ; 
14. Hollow of shoulder V)]ade ; 15. Upper end of arm bone ; 16. Arm 
bone, or humerus ; 17. Elbow bone ; IS. Ribs; 19. Haunch; 20. Haunch 
bone; 21. Great trochanter ; 22. Thi^rh bone ; 23. Ischium; 24. Radius, 
or forearm bone ; 25. Carpal, or knee bones ; 26. Trapezium ; 27. Cannon 
bones; 28. Pastern bones ; 29. Sesamoid bone; 30. Small pastern bone ; 
31. Upper end of leg bone; 32. Stitle joint; 33. Les: bone, or tibia; 
34. Point of hock; 35. Hock joint; 36. Head of small metatarsal bone ; 
37. Cannon of metatarsal bone ; 3S. Coffin bone; 39. Fetlock; 40. Patella, 
or stitle ; 41. Fibula. 

hfe in different cUmates and countries produced 
different types of horses. By selecting and 
breeding from these different types man has pro- 
duced mauy classes or grades of horses. It 
would take far too long to discuss in detail 



24 



A COUNTRY READER 



all these different grades, but it may be said 
that there are five classes of horses in most 
general use: (1) the Racing Horse; (2) the 
Riding Horse ; (3) the Carriage Horse ; (4) the 
Draught Horse ; (5) the Ponies. 

The Racing Horse 

Under this heading two types of horses must 
be considered: the Running Horse or Thorough- 




THOROUGHBRED. 



bred, and the Trotter. Right here, some expla- 
nation of the term " Thoroughbred " should be 
made. Here in America some confusion has re- 
sulted from the use of the term for any class of 



THE HORSE 25 

live stock which is purely bred. Thus we have 
in America thoroughbred cattle, sheep, swine, 
poultry, as well as horses. In England the name 
thoroughbred is applied to a distinct breed of 
horses, the running race-horse. In the following 
paragraphs, therefore, we shall use the English 
designation, and when we use the word '' Thor- 
oughbred," let it be understood that we refer to 
this particular breed of horses. 

The thoroughbred is a descendant of the Ara- 
bian and Barb horses, and has been bred for 
speed and endurance. A thoroughbred, there- 
fore, ought to have clean-cut, sinewy limbs, with 
long racing quarters, so as to allow the hind legs 
when galloping to stretch well under the body 
with the longest possible sweep. Its pasterns 
ought to be long and flexible, so that when the 
animal is cantering or galloping the motion is 
as easy as sitting in a rocking-chair. Its skin 
should be soft, its hair fine and velvety. A thor- 
oughbred's head ought to show signs of refine- 
ment, and be well put on the shoulders, so that 
it is carried with an air of pride, spirit, and free- 
dom. The head ought not to be too long, and 
ought to possess good width between the eyes. 
The nostrils ought to distend, so that after a 
good gallop they expand almost round, and 
show clearly the red inside, to allow the wind 
to conae out clear, even, and strong. In other 



26 A COUNTRY READER 

words, a thoroughbred is said to possess good 
quality when it exhibits a fine shape, high 
spirit, and a courage and endurance that will 
cause it to persevere till it drops. 

Many a courageous, high-spirited horse, at the 
bidding of its master, has galloped on, showing 
little or no signs of distress, till a quiver or 
uneven lurch of the body was the first sign to 
the rider that the noble beast had done all that 
it could, and it fell to die. 

So beautifully shaped is the body for speed, so 
clean and hard the legs, so well knit the frame, 
so sound the wind and condition, so keen the 
eyesight, so courageous the heart, that these 
beautiful creatures are said to have galloped for 
a short distance as fast as an ordinary express 
train can travel when moving at its best, namely, 
sixty miles per hour. 

To produce such an animal as this means 
generations of careful selection and breeding, the 
best-known system of stabling, grooming, train- 
ing, feeding, and caring for generally. In con- 
sequence of this careful breeding and training, 
these thoroughbreds are often very nervous, and 
therefore impatient and restless. If roughly 
and cruelly treated, their disposition or tempera- 
ment is easily spoiled, and they become vicious 
and dangerous. 

As these horses have been bred and trained 



THE HORSE 



27 



principally for galloping, they are bad trotters 
and walkers — tliey do not lift their legs well off 
the ground — and are seldom used for hunting 



or carriage work. 



The Trotter 

The trotting horse is purely an American de- 
velopment, although the animals from which 




TROTTING IIUKSE. 



this breed — it is now generally recognized as a 
breed — was originated, were English horses. 
The trotting gait is the result of most careful 



2^ 



A COUNTRY READER 



training. But in order to attain the trotting gait 
it is necessary that the animal have certain 
tendencies or instincts — the trotting instincts, 
as they are called. 

The trotting instinct is secured by the most 
careful breeding. The trotter is a lineal descend- 





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TROTTING HORSE IN ACTION. 



ant of the English thoroughbred. From tlie 
thoroughbred the courage and stamina of the 
Oriental blood are obtained, and from selected 
individuals the energy and speed of the racer, 
combined with a decided talent or instinct to 
acquire easily the trotting gait. The result 



THE HORSE 29 

is the remarkable combination of qualities 
which has made the American trotter a possi- 
bility. 

It is a pity that so much notoriety and scandal 
have become attached to horse-racing. The ex- 
citement incident uj)on a contest of s^^eed and 
endurance between well-bred and well-trained 
animals is natural, and it is likely that love of 
excitement and sport has been honestly inherited 
by the hnman race. But how few are able to 
attend a horse-race, as conducted nowadays, and 
witness the exciting sport without adding to it 
the unnatural and debasing excitement of the 
betting ring. Too often the shouts of the mul- 
titude at a great race are due more to the exul- 
tation of the " winners " than to the plaudits of 
a sport-loving crowd given to the victor of a 
hard-fought contest. 

This is not as it should be. Would that 
our race-courses could be rid of the obnoxious 
gambling features, for it has led many a prom- 
ising man or woman to forsake a life of honest 
labor to gamble at "the track" in the hope of 
gaining wealth easily. It is far better to gain 
a modest competence by honest labor, than to 
acquire the greatest wealth at the expense of 
some one else without giving in return full 
value received. 



30 a country reader 

The Kiding Horse 

A riding horse ought to have a good propor- 
tion of the thoroughbred about it, but it should 
be thicker and stronger than the thoroughbred — 
up to more weight, as it is termed. The quarters 
ought to be long and powerful, the thighs muscu- 
lar, the hocks clean and neatly shaj)ed, the head 
clean and long, with a look of good breeding 
about it. 

A riding horse cannot, as a rule, gallop as fast 
as a thoroughbred, but its other paces are better 
suited for giving pleasure in riding. It lifts its 
feet well off the ground with good all-round 
action. It can walk and trot faster and with 
greater safety than the thoroughbred. A good 
walk and trot are very essential in a riding horse, 
for a rider walks and trots his horse far more 
than he gallops it. In fact, no good rider who 
knows anything of, or cares anything for, his 
horse, unless absolutely obliged to do so, ever 
canters or gallops along the road or on a hard 
surface, because the jar of the hard surface tends 
to break the feet and cause all manner of mischief 
to arise in the legs, that in time may make the 
horse lame, or cause it to become what is termed 
unsound. 

In selecting a riding horse, there are certain 
points which are very essential. It is necessary 



THE HORSE 



31 



to see where he will carry bis saddle. The 
shoulders and withers ought so to place the 
saddle that the weight of the rider is thrown 
more on the cjimrters than on the front legs. 




A KIDING IIOKSE. 



In other words, w^hen you are in the saddle, you 
ouo-ht to have a e^ood deal of the horse in front 
of you. The reason for this is very plain. If 
your weight is well off the front legs, and on the 
powerful quarters, there is less chance of the 
horse stumbling and falling with you. And 
remember this, that it is the quarters, hind legs, 



32 



A COUNTRY READER 



and hocks that are the propelling power of the 
horse, whether in walking, trotting, cantering, 
or galloping. The front legs simply direct the 
horse and keep him steady. 

When you require a horse for carrying you on 
his back or for jumping, the quarters and hind 




HORSE IN ACT OF LEAPING. 



legs ought to be sufficiently powerful to enable 
the horse to do the work expected of him. If 
you watch a horse jumping, you will see that 
when he comes near the fence, he will prick 
his expressive and beautiful ears. This shows 
that he is thinkintj hard of how best he can 



THE HORSE 33 

get over. When he gets within a few paces 
of the fence, he raises his front legs first, by 
his will gathers himself together, and then by 
means of his quarters, hind legs, and hocks, he 
gives the necessary impulse that carries his rider 
over the hedge, ditch, or gate. 

You will note that the force or power that 
carries your horse over the fence is due to those 
quarters and wonderful hocks. If there were 
a slight weakness in one of those hocks, your 
liorse would not have the strength to clear the 
jump, but very probably would catch his front 
legs in the hedge or rail, and fall on his head on 
the other side. He might thus break his own 
neck and yours into the bargain. 

You can at once understand how important it 
is that a riding horse's hocks should be clean and 
strong, and the quarters muscular, well shaped, 
and powerful. 

There is another important point in a riding 
horse. The pastern joints should be long and 
flexible. There is nothing more graceful to 
watch in the movements of a horse than the 
working of good riding pasterns. These pas- 
terns ought to be long and flexible, not upright 
or directly over the foot, and the motion ought 
to be as easy as the springs of the most perfectly 
balanced arm-chair. It is the flexible and yield- 
ing action of these pasterns that gives ease and 



34 A COUNTRY READER 

comfort in riding. When you hear the expres- 
sion, " Riding him was hke sitting in an arm- 
chair," you may be quite sure that the horse of 
which that was said was well and gracefully 
made, with flexible, long, and yielding pasterns. 

The pasterns of a draught horse are straight 
and directly above the foot, short, and with little 
give in them. The consequence of this forma- 
tion is, that if you were to trot, canter, or gallop 
a di'aft horse, the motion would shake you " all 
to pieces," as the expression is, which of course 
means that the motion would shake you about 
so much as to be disagreeable, and you would 
find no pleasure in riding him. 

A riding horse ought to be a good walker, a 
fast trotter, an easy canterer, and a fairly fast 
galloper. 

The Carriage Horse 

The carriage or coach horse should be a strong, 
well-bred animal. The horse that is used en- 
tirely for carriage work is required mostly for 
walking and trotting, and is seldom called 
upon to canter or gallop. So the carriage horse 
must walk at a good pace and be a fast trotter. 
To be a fast trotter he must lift his front legs 
well off the ground and throw them w^ell for- 
ward, while the hind legs must come well under 
the body, with good and free hock action, in order 



THE HORSE 



35 



to give the pace and strength to draw along with 
ease the vehicle that is behind. Sometimes you 
may have seen a carriage horse with what is 
termed high-knee action. This means that the 
front legs come np and down almost straight, an 




A GOOD COACHER. 



action which of course does not carry the horse 
quickly over the ground; and moreover, the 
constant high up and down action, hammer, ham- 
mer, on the hard road, creates great concussion to 
the front leors, causino; them soon to wear out. 
Besides, this high up and down action is not 



36 A COUNTRY READER 

natural to the horse; it has been artificially 
tauofht, and therefore is neither useful nor beau- 
tiful. But the moderately high action which 
throws the fore leg well to the front carries the 
horse over the ground at a good pace, and by 
lessening the concussion of the ground, enables a 
horse to last long and do much work. 

If you notice a carriage horse going up a hill, 
you will see that almost all the power that he 
uses to drag his load comes from the hind legs and 
hocks; so you can at once understand how neces- 
sary it is that the quarters should be strong and 
muscular, and the hocks clean and without blem- 
ish. Watch the riding horse's pasterns move, as 
he walks by your side ; watch wdien a carriage 
horse with his stout courage is doing his very best 
to drag a heavy load up a hill. Watch in both 
cases the hocks and hind legs do their work, and 
if you care for a horse and can admire the beau- 
tiful in form and action of the animals around 
you, you will reverence and wonder at what you 
see there. 

As the carriage horse has not to carry a weight 
on his back, but to drag a weight behind him, 
his shoulders ought to be more upright, not so 
sloping as those of the riding horse ; this enables 
the collar to fit the neck better, and so gives him 
more power to drag his load. 

As horses have been bred for the purpose of 



THE HORSE 37 

galloping fast, so horses have been bred for trot- 
ting fast, until the pace that some horses, espe- 
cially the American horse, can trot is very swift. 
American trotting horses have been bred to trot 
as fast as many horses can gallop. 

Don't forget that the first points to look for in 
all horses, whether for racing, hunting, driving, 
or dragging a heavy load, are first and foremost 
good sound feet and legs. Let these be unsound, 
the horse lame, or with a formation that will 
in time cause it to go lame if it works, and 
though otherwise it may be the best horse in the 
world it will be of no use to you. 

Your horse must have a sound wind and 
perfect eyesight. It is said that imperfect eye- 
sight is responsible for many horses " shying " 
at unfamiliar objects. The three principal points 
to look for when you are buying a horse are, 
therefore, clean, strong legs and feet, keen eye- 
sight, and sound wind. 

The Draught Horse 

We now come to the horse that is especially 
the farmer's horse, and a beautiful creature have 
the farmers, by wise breeding and care, produced 
— powerful and beautiful outline of form, com- 
bined with great strength of body, gentleness 
of disposition, and a willingness to drag the 
heaviest load. 



38 



A COUNTRY READER 



A seventeen-liand liorse (a hand is four inches), 
dragging along two and one half tons of merchan- 
dise through our cities with ease and willingness, 
as if he enjoyed the effort, his coat smooth and 




DKAUGHT HORSE. 



glossy like satin, his brass harness trappings shin- 
ing so that you can almost see your face in them, 
is indeed worthy of admiration. 

Here we have a horse born and bred, not for 
pleasure, but for stern, hard work. 

To carry manure to the fields, to gather our 
crops, to carry our food, our clothing, our coal 
and wood from place to place, so that we may 
all live more comfortable and happier lives : this 



THE HORSE 39 

is the work this massive, noble, gentle beast is 
doing for lis. Let us always treat him kindly, 
and think well of him, for he deserves it at our 
hands. 

The shire or draught horse is not called upon to 
trot, canter, or gallop ; his usual pace is walking. 
Therefore he ought to be a fast walker, and he 
must be so shaped that when he is doing his 
work he can walk freely and easily. You will 
ver}' soon use him up if you walk him constantly 
at a pace faster than his form and strength will 
allow. Wlien plowing or with a full load behind 
him, he ought to walk at about four miles per 
hour. 

The draught horse should have a medium-sized 
head, and should be broad between the eyes, with 
neck fairly long and well arched. Its shoulders 
should be deejD and strong, chest wide and full, 
back short and straight, ribs round and deep, 
hind quarters very powerful, long, and level, the 
feet wide and prominent at the heels, with bold, 
free action, and with clean, heavy, flat bone, and 
soft, silky hair. The long hair on the legs above 
the heels is called the feathers. These feathers 
ought to be silky. If a horse is coarse feathered, 
it is said to be a sign of coarse, soft bone. 
These feathers on the legs save the horse from 
chills, and this is very important when you con- 
sider the time he has to stand about in wet mud 



40 



A COUNTRY READER 



and slush. None of us come to much harm if 
our feet and legs are warm ; it is when these are 
cold and damp that we feel miserable and catch 
cold. 

The Ponies 

Under this heading we shall consider the 
smallest horses in existence. The word " Pony " 




A SHETLAND PONY. 



means a small horse. In the western portion of 
the United States, especially during the days of 
the pioneers, the horses in use were nearly 
all ponies, and they were always referred to as 
such. They were small riding horses, used by 
the Indians and cowboys. We never read of 
a cowboy or an Indian riding a horse — they 



THE HORSE 41 

always call the animals they ride '^ iDonies." 
Over a great portion of the West no other riding 
horse is known. 

The smallest ponies are the Shetlands. They 
are, as their name indicates, natives of the Sliet- 
land Islands, north of Scotland. The climate of 
these islands is most severe, and the herbage is 
scarce and coarse. The hard life has conse- 
quently left its impress on this breed of horses. 
They are very small — from eight to eleven 
hands high — shaggy coated, with bushy manes 
and tails, and are extremelj^ hardy. 

These characteristics are wdiat we should natu- 
rally expect to find developed under such hard 
conditions. Scanty, coarse food and a severe 
climate tend to produce smalhiess of stature and 
hardihood of disposition in animals. 

That adverse conditions are responsible for 
the diminutive size of the animals is well exem- 
plified by the fact that the ponies of this breed, 
reared in our country, where conditions are 
more favorable, gradually increase in size. 

This increase in size is not desired, as these 
ponies are used especially as children's horses ; 
hence the smaller the individuals the more highly 
are they prized. 

The Shetlands possess great muscular endur- 
ance, and are, as a rule, very gentle and docile, 
For this reason they are tlie safest and most 



42 



A COUNTRY READER 



popular horses for children's use. They are 
withal very intelligent, and are thus easily 
trained. 

Our account of horses in our country would 
not be complete without a few words about the 




A BKONCO. 



Mexican or Indian Ponies of the West. These 
are the wild horses of the plains, and they had 
their origin in the Spanish ponies introduced into 
Mexico by the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. 
From Mexico they spread gradually north- 
ward into Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, 
and are supposed also to have formed, with th^ 



THE HORSE 43 

French Canadicin ponies, the breeds used by the 
more northerly tribes of Indians. 

In Texas, these ponies are called Mustangs; 
farther north they are more familiarly known as 
Broncos. Both these names have become syno- 
nyms of all that is bad and vicious in horse- 
flesh. These horses are notorious as the most 
ill-tempered and unmanageable beasts that man 
has to deal with. 

Yet they are tough, wiry, and possessed of the 
most remarkable endurance. Though small (they 
stand twelve to thirteen or fourteen hands high, 
and weigh from 600 to 800 pounds), these ponies 
will carry heavy men on their backs and make a 
pace and distance day after day, under most 
adverse conditions, which would put to shame 
some of the most highly bred horses. 

Pony Express 

In the early days of the Far West, before the 
overland railroad was built across the plains, a 
" pony express " was run from the frontier settle- 
ments to the far western country. This express 
carried letters and light parcels, and consisted of 
relays of riders and ponies. The wild native 
ponies were used on these perilous trips, and 
many a daring rider was enabled to escape with 
his life only by the fleetness and remarkable 
endurance of his pony. Bands of murderous 



44 A COUNTRY READER 

Indians roamed over the country, trying in every 
possible way to stop the advance of the white 
settlers, and naturally the pony express riders 
were the special object of their villainous atten- 
tions. 

The vicious tempers of these horses have 
formed the subject of much that has been writ- 
ten about horses. It is likely, though, that the 
accounts of their unmanageableness are very 
much overdrawn. In fact, young pony colts 
taken when about two years old, aud given the 
same care and attention in their breaking and 
trainhig as is given to highly bred animals. Lave 
shown dispositions quite unlike the unruly vi- 
ciousness with which they have been credited. 
Naturally there are individuals among them 
which are mean and vicious ; but this occurs 
also amons; the best breeds. Kindness and firm- 
ness — not cruelty — in the breaking and train- 
ing of horses of all kinds will always accomplish 
the best results. 

How TO STABLE A HORSE 

The stable should be airy, ventilated from the 
top, well lighted, and free from offensive smells. 
The drains should discharge outside tlie stable 
into what is termed a covered trap. iVbove 
everything, there should be no draughts in a 
stable, as there is nothing so likely to give a 



THE HORSE 



4; 



ij 



liorse a bad cold as a draught. In fact a draught 
is bad for everything that grows and lives, — 
man, animals, and plants. 

It is well known that a horse seldom or never 
catches cold in the open fields, even if he is kej)t 




A MODEL MODERN STABLE. 



out through the severest winter, provided, of 
course, he can get sufficient heat-giving food. If 
a horse's coat stands up, and his ears feel cold 
to the hand, you may be sure that the horse 
feels cold, and requires warmth. 

Remember that a horse is naturallv intended 
to walk or roam about plains or fields. So when 
he feels chilly he simply moves about. When 



46 A COUNTRY KEADER 

he is in a stall he cannot do this, and there- 
fore he has no means of kee|)ing up his circula- 
tion. 

A horse will require less food in a warm than 
in a cold, draughty stable ; it is better, however, 
to have a cold stable and j^lenty of air than a 
w^arm stable and foul air. 

The stable should be well lighted, because this 
keeps the eyesight keen and good, so that a 
horse that is kept in a well-lighted stable is not 
apt to shy when he is at work. 

The stable should be free from offensive 
smells, because bad smells and defective venti- 
lation cause a horse to feel unwell, and then 
he becomes low-spirited and out of condition. 
Whenever a horse that is usually a good feeder 
refuses his food, you may be quite sure that 
there is something wrong with him. 

The bedding should be sorted and the w^et 
portion removed every morning. The stable 
should be frequently flushed out with a plentiful 
supply of fresh water. 

Grooming and Feeding 

To keep a horse in good health and in the 
best condition for working, his skin should be 
well rubbed over every morning with a hard, stiff 
brush and currycomb. When a horse is out in 
the open, he will often roll on the hard, uneven 



THE HORSE 47 

ground, and tlius set up a healthy friction of the 
skin which is so necessary to health. He can- 
not do this in a stall, so we are obliged to use a 
hard brush and currycomb. This helps to keep 
the skin clean and free from scurf, stimulates 
circulation and creates warmth. 

The feet ought to be carefully washed and 
cleaned out every day, and your horse must never 
by any chance when he is in the stal)le stand in 
damp slush or muck. If he does, he will soon 
get something wrong with his feet and in time 
ga lame. 

A horse ought to be regularly fed ; the number 
of times a day and the quantity of food depend 
on each horse, and the amount of work he has 
to do. Remember that a horse has a small 
stomach, and therefore he ought to be fed in 
small quantities and often ; especially is it im- 
portant that he should be fed early in the 
morning. 

As a rule, the best "feed" for a horse when 
he is at work is good, clean, sound, old oats. 
Oats have a high feeding value because they 
contain a large proportion of flesh or muscle- 
forming material, which is naturally very desir- 
able for work horses. We should not feed our 
horses on grain which will make them fat at the 
expense of good, sound muscle. Care on this 
point should be especially exercised in summer. 



48 A COUNTRY HEADER 

Fattening food is heating food, and a fat horse, 
like a fat man, is not able to work hard with- 
out soon tiring. In the colder portions of our 
country, and in winter, more fattening food is 
allowable. It is even desirable or necessary 
where the stable is not kept warmed during the 
coldest weather, or where, as is often the case, 
the horse has little or no protection during win- 
ter. As mentioned above, a horse will be able 
to withstand very cold weather if he has a suffi- 
cient supply of heating or fattening food. 

Of course, Avhat we have said about " feed " 
refers to the concentrated part of a horse's diet 
and is in addition to the rougher ^Dortion — 
"roughage" as it is called — hay or grass. 
Oats, corn, barley, or other grains are to the 
horse what meat is to man, a highly concen- 
trated food which needs rougher food to go with 
it. Hay or grass performs the same functions in 
a horse's diet that potatoes and other " vegeta- 
bles " do in man's. 

It is a good plan to crush the oats or other 
grain, and then mix them with finely chopped 
hay, straw, or chaff. Then the whole mass 
should be moistened with water. This will make 
an appetizing and digestible meal. 

If the g:rains be fed whole and not mixed with 
hay or chaft', a horse will swallow much of them 
without properly masticating them, and thus he 



THE HORSE 49 

cannot fully digest them. Therefore many of 
the nourishing properties of the food are lost ; 
that is, are not turned into flesh, muscle, and 
bone, and this of course means waste and expen- 
sive feeding. 

Whereas, if the grains are crushed and mixed 
with rougher material, the horse is obliged to 
chew them all well together. This causes the 
saliva to mix freely with the food, and promotes 
dig;estion. 

It is not what you swallow that of necessity 
does you good, but what you digest. It is much 
better for the health and streno^th of vour ani- 
mals, and for your own well-being, to take a 
small quantity of well-digested food than a larger 
quantity of badly digested food. 

You make a horse comfortable for the night 
by " bedding down," as it is termed — that is, 
you pile up around him and under him a good 
thickness of clean straw upon which to lie. 
After you have done this, give him a good arm- 
ful of sweet, clean hay. The best hay has always 
a strong, sweet smell, and has a greenish look. 
When hay looks dark brown, it shows that it has 
not been harvested in the best condition ; in 
other words, that much good feeding quality has 
left it, and that there is very little nourishment 
in it. 

Horses are very particular about the Avater 

£ 



t)0 A COUNTRY HEADER 

they drink ; therefore, let it be pure and whole- 
some, and see that the bucket in which you 
carry it is quite clean. Soft water is the best. 
It is more easily digested, and not so likely to 
chill a horse. It has been found that if water is 
always left in the stable, where the horse can 
drink it when he likes, he will drink less than 
when it is given him only at stated times from 
a ])ucket. 

When you are driving a horse on a journey, 
and you come to a drinking fountain, let him 
have a few mouthfuls ; it will refresh him greatly, 
especially on a hot day. 

Experience has taught us that it is best to 
give a horse a little water before he feeds, and 
never w^ait until some time after he has finished 
his feed. In the summer some good green grass 
or clover should be given ; this cools the Ijlood 
and affords a change of diet. A carrot or turnij) 
sliced up and mixed with the ^'feed" is very 
refreshing to a horse. Most horses are very 
fond of sugar. When they are fond of it, 
give them a few lumps each morning from the 
palm of your hand ; then, as the delicate, sensi- 
tive lips take the sugar, speak to your horse, and 
he will soon get to know your voice. Thus 
you may train him to obey your will. 

Wherever possible, give your horse a few 
weeks' run in the fields every year. This will 



THE HORSE 51 

add to his general health, strengthen his legs, 
and extend the number of years he will work for 
you. Just as human beings need a vacation, or 
period of rest, so does the hard-working horse re- 
quhe a chance to recuperate from his yearly toil. 

« 

How TO TREAT A HoRSE 

There is a golden rule, "Be firm, but kind." 
If possible, never change your mind. Let a par- 
ticular word and tone of voice always mean 
that you intend a horse to do a certain thing, 
and see that you are obeyed. If possible, never 
let a horse conquer you, because you will have 
more trouble next time. A horse soon learns 
who is master. 

If your voice, rein, and heel fail to obtain 
obedience, then as a last resource use the whijD. 
When you do use the whip, use it well, but only 
when everything else has failed ; and always 
remember this, for it is very important — keep 
your self-control ; don't lose your temper. In 
your treatment of all animals be very patient, and 
closely observe the different dispositions of each. 

Perhaps there is nothing that shows a good 
horseman more than his manner of holding and 
using the whip. A skillful plowman — and very 
skillful work is plowing — will work his team by 
his voice, with only the assistance of two slender 
string reins. 



52 A COUNTRY READER 

A good teamster will seldom strike his horse. 
Why should he, when the big, beautiful creature 
understands and obeys everything said to him ? 

The human voice, when it is associated with 
confidence and affection, has a wonderfully calm- 
ino' effect on a horse. It will succeed when 
everything else fails. Therefore constantly talk 
to your horse. Before going up to him in his 
stable always speak to him. While you are 
speaking to him, stroke his neck and nose gently. 
Associate everything you do with some word or 
tone of voice, and in a short time your horse 
will understand what you mean. He will 
then regard you as a friend, and the kinder 
and more considerate and feeling you are, the 
more work he will do for you, and the greater 
the pleasure you will have in working him. 

Many horses shy a good deal at objects they 
meet on the road. This usually arises from 
nervousness, because the objects are not familiar 
to them. Therefore, to cure the habit, you must 
get your horse accustomed to what he sees, and 
so give him confidence. 

If your horse pricks his ears, and shies at 
something he sees on the road, take him up to 
the object he has shied at; at the same time 
speak firmly but soothingly to him ; this will 
soon give him confidence. 

Of course some horses will shy and jump 



THE HORSE 53 

about, all over the road, out of pure high spirits 
and from want of work. The only thhm then is 
to sit steadily, using your voice and judgment, 
tih the high spirits have expended themselves. 

Be careful never to stop a horse that is draw- 
ing a vehicle or load in the middle of a hill, 
except for a rest ; and if for a rest, drive him 
across the hill and place a big stone behind the 
wheel, so that the strain on the shoulder may be 
eased. Unless absolutely necessary never stop a 
horse on a hill or in a rut, so that when he starts 
again it means a heavy tug. Many a horse has 
been made to jib or balk and has had his temper 
spoiled by the driver's not observing this rule. 

Above all things, be careful of your horse's 
mouth. In riding or driving you ought only 
just to feel your horse's mouth. Your hands 
ought not to be rigid, like bars of iron, but they 
ought to give and take with every movement 
of the horse's head. Your horse's mouth then 
becomes delicate, alive, not hard and dead. In 
short, try to cultivate what is termed light hands. 
Then if sympathy exists between you and your 
horse, you can guide him w^ith hardly any 
movement of the reins or hands. 

If your horse has W' hat is termed a ^' good 
mouth," he is much more valuable, because a 
good horseman gets so much more pleasure in 
riding or driving him. It is misery to handle 



54 A COUNTRY READER 

a liorse that is always pulling at you, with, a 
mouth that feels dead. It is something like 
pulling against a stone wall. Such a horse 
loses half its value. These hard mouths, and, 
indeed, many evil habits are often caused by the 
heavy hand and rough methods of ignorant men 
in " breaking in" young horses. In nine cases 
out of ten the manners of a horse depend on the 
way he is treated when young. 

To secure good manners in a horse, which 
means that he does not shy, kick, bite, run 
away, balk, or jib, but moves along easily and 
brightly, answering to every movement of the 
rein and whip, and command of the voice, he 
must from the time he is born be treated kindly, 
but firmly, and never frightened. 

Remember that a horse is naturally a very 
timid and sensitive creature, and therefore, when 
you break him to work, try to create in him 
confidence ; but at the same time make him feel 
that he has to do what he is told. 

The colt before it has left its mother ouglit 
to be handled, petted, spoken to, and made accus- 
tomed to the saddle, bridle, and harness. 

If you wish the young horse to become a first- 
class and clever jumper, make some hardies in 
the field, over which he will be obliged to leap 
before he gets his water and feed of grain. 

It is a great mistake to work your horse much 



THE HORSE 55 

wlien be is young. He ought only to do very 
light work between the ages of four and five 
years. By the time be is five, be has probably 
stopped growing ; bis bones are set and bard, 
and his muscles strong and flexible. The year 
spared to him between the age of four and five 
will probably enable him to work for many 
years longer than he could do if put to hard 
work before that time. 

You have noticed how fond horses are of 
companions. How sociable they are. With 
some horses this sentiment is so strong that, if 
their stable companion be taken from them, they 
will fret, and for a time refuse to feed. If the 
companion that has been with a horse in the 
field be taken away, the solitary one that is left 
will gallop wildly about, neigh, and show every 
sign of unhappiness. 

A Few Facts about All Horses 

A horse is a grazing animal ; therefore if he 
be synmietrically made, he ought to be able to 
reach the ground with bis mouth without being 
obliged to bend his fore legs. If you see a horse 
bending one of his fore legs while grazing, you 
may be sure that his neck is too short — out of 
proportion to the rest of his body. If this be 
so, the constant bending of one leg, while graz- 
ing, to enable the mouth to reach the ground, 



56 A COUNTRY READER 

tends to weaken the fore leg's. In bovine^ a 
horse, then, it will be well to observe this j^oint, 
for it must not be forgotten that an nnsonnd 
horse is an expensive animal at any price. One 
of the chief points of soundness in a liorse is 
that he have strong, firm, hard, erect front legs 
if he is to last and do constant work. 

The teeth at the back of a horse's month are 
called grinders, the teeth in front are called cut- 
tino^ teeth or incisors. A cow has no front 
upper teeth, but only bare, hard flesh — a pad, 
as it is called. She therefore, with her tongue, 
gathers off the grass, which is at once sent to 
one of the four compartments of her stomach. 
When this is full she generally lies down and 
pumps the undigested food into her mouth, and 
then by moving the jaws from side to side, her 
back teeth, or grinders, grind the food very much 
as corn is ground between the rough edges of the 
^^mill stones" of a mill. When the food is 
thoroughly masticated in this way, it goes into 
another compartment of her stomach, where it is 
digested in the usual manner. Now, a horse 
cuts the grass off with his front incisor teeth, 
very close to the ground, masticates it, and 
swallows it as we do our food. A horse has no 
pad, as a cow, but six sharp cutting teeth in 
front, so that he can graze very much closer to 
tlie ground than can a cow. 



THE HORSE 57 

Here is another important fact. Between the 
six incisor front teeth and the back teeth or 
grinders, the horse has a space called the bar, 
into which fits the bit that is placed in his 
mouth. If a horse had no such space as that, 
but teetli all round the jaws as we have, it 
would be a great cruelty, in fact it would be 
impossible, to place a bit in his mouth. 

The Use of a Lois^g Tail 

On the open, hot, and dry plains, where the 
wild horses of many hundreds of years ago wan- 
dered without interruption, there were myriads 
of tormenting: flies. Their stino; and irritation 
is maddening to most horses. As a means of 
defense and in order to drive these tormenting 
insects away, the horse has been provided with a 
long dock to which is attached a long wisp of 
coarse hair. With this long tail the horse is 
enabled to switch off the flies from most parts of 
his body. He dislodges the insects from his 
shoulders and fore legs by being able to give a 
quivering motion to the skin of the front por- 
tion of his body. 

On very hot days the flies are especially 
troublesome. If you have ever observed horses 
in the open fields or pasture, you must have 
noticed two horses standino; closelv too;ether 
head to tail. If you will watch them closely 



58 A COUNTRY READER 

you will see that they are actually knocking the 
flies off each other with their long tails. This 
is one illustration out of a number, which might 
be mentioned, in which animals give each other 
mutual help. 

You must have noticed, on our city streets or 
in our parks, horses with their tails '' docked," 
that is, cut off close to the body, so that they 
can no longer serve any useful purpose. Per- 
haps some may wonder why this has been 
done. 

The custom was started in England in order 
to prevent the horse getting his tail over the 
reins. This greatly annoys some horses, and 
when they feel the reins under the tail, they will 
begin to kick in a dangerous manner. With a 
rein under the horse's tail, the driver is almost 
powerless, and in crowded places this might 
result in a very dangerous accident. This led to 
the practice of docking or cutting off the tail 
w^hen the horse was young. 

In England, where the weather is often cold, 
cloudy, and damp, there are only three months 
of the year (July, August, and September) dur- 
ing which the flies are at all troublesome. But 
in most parts of America, where flies are more 
numerous and troublesome, it is really cruel to 
dock a horse's tail, and thus deprive him of his 
means of driving off his tormentors. 



the horse 59 

Out i:n^ the Field 

When you first turn a horse out into the fields, 
or let hnn loose in some wide inclosure, after 
he has been a long time confined in a stable, 
you will frequently see him put down his head 
and throw his heels high into the air — kicking, 
galloping, and squealing to show his great delight 
at being free. 

Sometimes, after he has galloped about, he 
m?vy stand for a moment and with tail and head 
in the air snort loudly, showing the beautiful red 
inside the sensitive and quivering nostrils. The 
eye is alive and bright, and full of spirit and 
hope. Liberty seems to have transformed the 
animal into a creature of strong beauty and activ- 
ity. It is then that you must watch him if you 
want to see him at his best. Then, as if sud- 
denly remembering that he is at liberty, away he 
wdll go again, until some of his excitement has 
worn down. He may then lie down and try 
to roll over. This he may do two or three 
times. It is thought the horse rolls on the 
ground in order to set up a healthy friction of 
the skin. We know that this friction is neces- 
sary to keep the horse in good health ; there- 
fore as he cannot roll while confined in the 
stable, we must curry and brush him every day. 

When a horse gets up from the ground he 



60 A COUNTRY READER 

places his front legs well forward, and with 
them starts to lift his body; then using his hind 
legs, with a great muscular effort he hoists him- 
self on his four legs. You can see at once that 
this is the wisest way for a horse to get up if he 
is to get quickly into his stride and gallop off, 
when pursued by his wild enemies. 

You may have noticed that a cow, in get- 
ting up, rises first on her hind legs and then 
slowly lifts herself on her front legs. As a 
cow's weapons of defense are her horns and 
neck, you will easily see that this method of 
getting up is wisest in her case. She can in 
this way keep her eyes fixed on any beast of 
prey which may be approaching to attack her. 
A horse's weapons of defense, on the contrary, 
are his heels, and the quicker he can get up 
and into his stride, the better chance he has for 
escape. 

You will remember that at the beginning of 
this chapter you read that before horses were 
tamed by man they wandered in large herds 
over wide and immense plains. Now this state- 
ment is borne out by observing the habits of 
your horses, especially of the young horse, — 
the foal. 

If horses lived in herds on wide plains, their 
principal weapons of defense and of escape from 
their enemies must have been their great pace 



THE HORSE 61 

and endurance in traveling. If therefore the 
young foal, ahnost as soon as it was born, could 
not have galloped fast, the enemies of the wild 
horse would soon have captured and killed all the 
young foals, and so it would not have taken very 
long before the race of horses would have come 
to an end. 

To give the colt the speed that was necessary 
to preserve its life, it is provided from birth with 
very long legs, making it look like a horse on 
stilts. And, if you observe a colt, you will see 
that within a few days of its birth it can gallop 
almost as fast as it ever can in its life. 

There is a story told of a thorouglibred foal of 
about a month old, that once beat a trained race- 
horse over a half-mile course, and thus won its 
owner a large sum of money. 

The mother or dam of the foal was noted for 
her speed, and although she had a jockey on her 
back, she beat the horse racing against her, and 
her long-legged foal kept up with her with ease. 

Now, if the young foal had had a large 
stomach and had been obliged to consume a 
large quantity of food to satisfy its hunger, as 
does a cow, it could not have galloped fast, 
and so would easily have been captured by its 
enemies. Because the foal has a small stomach 
it needs constantly to go to its mother for food, 
and is satisfied with a few mouthfuls at a time. 



62 A COUNTRY READER 

Then look at the hard, round hoof of the horse : 
how beautifully suited it is for traveling fast on 
hard plains. If a horse gets into a very boggy 
place, its hoofs sink in, acting as a kind of 
sucker, so that it requires a strong, muscular 
effort on the part of the horse to pull them out. 
Now, a cow or an ox, owing to its having a slit 
between its two toes, can travel faster over a 
place deep in mud than can a horse. It is stated 
that owing to this fact mounted hunters have 
been overtaken and killed by fierce and enraged 
wild buffaloes. 

Also notice how a young foal will lie down. 
It will stretch itself fully out. A calf, on the 
other hand, will ciurl itself round in as small a 
space as possible. You will read the reason for 
this in the chapter on the cow. 

In the open plains there was little or no 
cover for concealment, nor was there any need 
for a herd of wild horses to conceal themselves. 
They trusted to escape their enemies by their 
speed and quick senses of hearing and eyesight; 
they did not trust to concealment, as did the 
cow. 

When a horse is alarmed it throws its head as 
high in the air as possible, as if desirous of 
obtaining the most extended compass of view. 
This is what it would naturally do on the open 
plainS; for the farther away it could see its 



THE HORSE 63 

enemies approaching the longer notice it would 
get, and the better would be its chance of escape. 

Such actions as bucking, kicking, and shying 
go back to the time when the horse lived in 
v/ild state. We have already described the ac- 
tions of horses when they are first turned out in 
the fields after confinement for some time in a 
stable. We have seen how they will gallop about, 
and witli heads well down will kick and buck. 
You can at once understand that this would be 
the best plan for a horse to adopt to get rid of 
a beast of prey that had sprung upon its back. 
With some horses, the power of kicking and 
bucking is so great that they can get a saddle 
off their backs without breaking the girths. 

Let us suppose a herd of wild horses trotting 
over a plain. They came across a thick mass 
of growing grass in which lay concealed a 
beast of prey. Directly they saw the slightest 
movement of the grass, their experience taught 
them to suspect that some beast of prey was 
on the move, and was about to spring. Then 
the horses that could swerve the quickest and 
farthest would have the best chance of evading 
the spring of the beast that hungered for its 
dinner. 

These and many more habits that we observe 
in our domestic animals seem quite useless now, 
but you may be sure they were of the greatest 



64 A COUNTRY READER 

use in preserving the lives of their wild ancestors 
before they were tamed by man. 

The intense desire to live, which is present 
Avith everything that does live, caused these 
habits to be gradually acquired or adopted by 
the wild ancestors of the present animals ; and 
these habits, continuing for countless years when 
they were in the wild state, became at last so 
firmly rooted — instinctive, as it is called — that 
they continue in the domesticated animals of 
to-day, of course to a very much slighter extent, 
although their need, for the purpose of preserv- 
ing life, no longer exists. 

In the country it is most important to observe 
carefully everything that goes on around you, and 
then to try to remember accurately what you 
have observed. In this way you will probably 
learn more of the life about you than you w^ould 
from any number of teachers and books, no 
matter how good they are. 

Just as each of us has a different disposition 
or character, so each animal has its particular 
character or disposition. And the more you 
treat each animal according to its own disposition 
the greater will be your power over that animal. 



CHAPTER ir 



THE DONKEY 

Extinct Ancestors 

As we have seen, the prehistoric ancestor of 
the present-da J horse has been given the name 




WILD HOKSE CAPTURED IN CENTRAL ASIA. 

'^ Hipparion " by those who have studied the 
fossihzed remains. Tliis extinct animal moved 
about on one toe on each foot, as om^ horses do ; 
but it had two other toes which himg uselessly 
at the side of the useful middle toe. 

F 65 



66 A COUNTRY READER 

From the appearance of the wild horses and 
wild asses found living to-day, and from other 
evidences, the Hipparion wild horses are thought 
to have resembled asses rather than horses. 

The wild horses that have lately been captured 
in Central Asia, and which are now to be seen 
in the great Zoological Gardens of London, have 
certainly some of the characteristics of the ass, 
— the feet, nostrils, tail, the strijDe down the 
back. They are said to be the first genuine wild 
horses that have ever been captured. The so- 
called wild horses captured previously to these, 
are now said to have been horses that at one 
time were domesticated, which, escaping from 
captivity, had reverted back to their wild con- 
dition. 

Interesting as these speculations are, we can- 
nob go further into them, but must confine our- 
selves to the living animals found to-day. 

The wild ass wanders to-day over the arid or 
dry and parched regions of Asia, ranging from 
Syria to Persia and western India, and north- 
ward over a large extent of Asia. In Persia 
he is rated a noble game animal, and his flesh 
is as highly prized as venison is with us. 

There are three varieties of these Asiatic wild 
asses, some varieties being larger than others. 
They stand about three feet eight inches to four 
feet high — eleven to twelve hands, at the withers. 



THE DONKEY 67 

Some specimens which have been brought to the 
London Gardens are whitish brown in color, with 
smooth coats. They are alert animals and are 
slender but strongly built, with good, hard bone. 

In their native countries they travel over 
gieat desert plains and stony ground, and when 
pressed they travel at a great pace, and with 
a remarkable security of foothold. They live 
mostly in small bands of two to four or five, 
sometimes in herds of twenty to thirty. 

They feed, and keep in hard condition, on the 
dry, wiry grasses, the only growth of those arid 
regions. 

Like many of the fleeter animals that live 
where vegetation is scarce, they are often obliged 
to wander for long distances in search of food. 

This migration in search of food may be one 
reason for the remarkable endurance of the 
modern horse and ass. 

The natural pace of these animals in the wild 
state, when traveling, is said to be a trot ; hence 
the ease with which the domesticated breed can 
keep up this pace for long distances. 

The African wild ass has perhaps the most 
mterest for us, because our domestic breeds are 
said to have descended from it. There is cer- 
tainly a very close similarity between the two, 
and their bray cannot be distinguished one from 
the other. 



6S 



A COUNTRY READER 



The ass was domesticated by the Egyptians 
before the horse, and was used as a servant by 
that wonderful people in the valley of the Nile. 
From thence it was taken into Europe by the 
Romans. 

In the desert regions of Africa, in the moun- 
tainous tableland to the south and east of Egypt, 




THE AFRICAN WILD ASS 



and in Somaliland the ass is found wild to-day. 
It has much larger ears, a shorter mane and tail, 
and a thicker coat than the wild Asiatic species. 
Travelers who have seen the African ass 
wandering at large tell us that in its native 



THE DONKEY 69 

haunts it is the perfection of activity and cour- 
age : that as it travels with the speed of the 
horse over the rocks and sands of its native 
country, it carries itself well with an all-round 
free action. 

It is very difficult to approach, and it keeps 
fat and in good condition on the wiry and scanty 
herbage that it finds about. 

The color of these wild animals matches so 
wonderfully with the rocks and sands about 
which they wander, that it is at times very 
difficult to see them. This " protective colora- 
tion," as it is termed, often must have saved a 
wild ass's life. 

During the long past, the chance of living 
and rearing offspring was limited to those whose 
color was such as would help to conceal them, 
as well as to those who by their keen eyesight, 
quick hearing, and general alertness could detect 
an enemy approaching, and then, by hard stamina 
and quick pace, could make good their escape. 

In order to understand how certain character- 
istics of these remarkable animals became fixed, 
it is important to try to realize the following 
facts : — 

Their wild ancestors must have wandered at 
will over extensive tracts of uncultivated and 
diversified country, ages before they were pressed 
into service by man. 



70 A COUNTRY READER 

During this long period, if they were to sur- 
vive, they had to acquire certain characteristics, 
physical and mental, which were the most suit- 
able to the wild life they had to lead. 

They had to wander long distances in search 
of their scanty food; they had to rear their foals 
in safety. They had to guard against the 
crafty, stealthy stalking and hunting of their 
ever vigilant enemies, the beasts of prey. They 
had to keep sound and in good condition, in 
different degrees of climate, and on very scanty 
fare. 

To perform and to survive all this, certain 
mental and physical characteristics had to be 
acquired, and then further, by constant habit, to 
become fixed or instinctive. 

The characteristics needed were alertness, 
speed, and endurance, and in the case of the 
horse, mutual self-help, together with the essen- 
tial characteristic of being able to keep in sound, 
hard condition, amidst constant changes of cli- 
mate, and on dry, wiry, scanty food. 

To obtain that wonderful eye, that keen hear- 
ing, that well-knit frame, that straight whipcord 
kind of leg : what lives it must have cost ! 

We must believe that it cost the lives of 
numberless animals, and that the experience and 
inheritance of many generations of survivors were 
necessary to fix the essentials of self-preserva- 



THE DONKEY 71 

tion ; but at last so firmly fixed did they become, 
that man by his domestication has altered or 
modified them but little. 

To take the wild traits as our ancestors found 
them, and then to develop them along their 
natural lines, so that they might be of the 
greatest service, was the wisest plan. This 
plan man has adopted; hence the great use 
these animals are to him. 

Horse and Ass Compared 

Now notice these points about the donkey, 
and then reflect if they do not incline one to 
believe that the wild donkey lived in more 
mountainous regions than the wild horse. 

A donkey is very sure-footed and, if he chooses, 
can climb up and down hillsides with as sure a 
foothold as that of a cat. 

A man may ride on a donkey so small that 
his (the man's) legs will almost touch the ground. 
Yet the little animal will carry him up and down 
almost perpendicular mountain sides with mar- 
velous sure-footedness. 

The legs of the donkey are very similar to 
those of the Bighorn chamois, and other climb- 
ing aniaials. They are strong and sinewy like 
whipcord. A donkey's foot is more pointed 
than that of a horse, similar in shape to those of 
other hoofed animals that live in mountainous 



72 A COUNTRY READER 

regions. In consequence of the monntain life 
of its wild ancestors, our modern donkey has 
excellent nerves and is not given to shying, 
or being seized with panic ; it never loses its 
head on the most perilous mountain trail, which 
cannot be said of the horse. 

Horses that come from a very open country, 
such as the Arab and Barb horses, are not nearlv 
so addicted to shying as those that live where, 
here and there, are scattered clumps of bushes 
and trees, which might harbor an enemy. 

Now, for long ages, the wild ancestors of the 
donkey lived where there was comparatively 
little danger of its enemies lying in ambush. 
This may account for his steady disposition, and 
for the fact that he is not inclined to shy. But 
although he had not much fear of foes lying in 
ambush, he was a,lways on the alert against the 
wary approach and clever stalking of enemies, 
which the projecting crags could so easily con- 
ceal. The clever beast of prey would creep and 
pause, and lie still, taking advantage of every 
bit of cover, until it crept within the distance 
needful for a successful spring. Therefore the 
importance of a donkey's having large ears to 
catch quickly and readily any sound that might 
be made by his approaching enemy. 

The ass is gray in color with a black band 
down the back, a most suitable coloration for 



THE DONKEY 73 

concealing a wild animal from its enemies. The 
gray tint would exactly match with the grayness 
of the mountain and its surromidings, and so- he 
would have a better chance of escaping notice, than 
if he were of a color that would stand out clear 
and distinct against the rocks, liills, and sandy- 
colored soil that everywhere surrounded him. 

A donkey's coat is more shaggy than that of a 
horse. This suggests that the wild ancestor lived 
in elevated regions where the air was cold. At 
the same time a donkey can bear heat well. 
This again suggests that his original wild home 
was amidst the mountainous regions of the 
tropics, where he was subject to variations of 
temperature, sometimes cold, sometimes hot. 

The eyes of a donkey are said not to be so 
quick as are those of a horse, nor does he so 
often turn his head about to sniff the air. 

On sandy or grassy plains where the wild 
horse wandered, steps are deadened, and there- 
fore eyes are more valuable than ears, to give 
warning of any approaching enemy ; and the 
breeze blowing evenly across the plain reveals to 
the horse, if he be standing to leeward, the ap- 
proach of the enemy before it comes in sight. 

Another natural trait observed in the ass is 
its inveterate dislike to crossing water. With 
some asses this is so strong; that no coaxing; or 
bribing will get them over. 



74 A COUNTRY READER 

How is this to be accounted for, except that 
the wild ancestors lived in districts where they 
had little or no experience of water ? 

Another trait — he has a great liking for 
thistles, and his mouth is so made that the prick 
of a thistle has no effect upon it. The fact 
proves that the wild asses must have lived in 
regions where the thistle family of plants 
abounded. 

The Stubbornness of an Ass. — A Sugges- 
tion" 

The stubbornness of the ass is proverbial. 
We often hear the remark " as stubborn as a 
mule." It is interesting to conjecture how 
the animal acquired his stubborn traits. We 
say " conjecture "; we cannot do more than this, 
because we have no absolute facts upon which 
to base any accurate conclusion. The only 
fact which exists is the fact that the ass is 
stubborn. 

We have seen that the wild asses do not live 
in large herds as do the wild horses. 

In mountainous places where food is scanty, 
only a few wild asses could live together ; while, 
on the other hand, wild horses who lived in 
more level districts, where food was more plenti- 
ful, could herd together in greater numbers. 

Horses are, therefore, particularly fond of 



THE DONKEY 75 

being together ; they perhaps are the most so- 
ciable of all our animals, but not so the ass. 

Should a foe appear, each must decide for 
itself how best to escape, no following the 
leader and making good an escape in that man- 
ner. May not this have developed a stubborn 
self-reliance ? 

You must have noticed that people who live 
somewhat isolated lives are more stubborn, more 
self-reliant, less quick to act than people who 
live in communities, who act together, and ask 
advice of each other. 

In common usage the terms ass and don- 
key are used indiscriminately whether speaking 
of the large, well-developed animals which are 
used wholly for breeding purposes or of the 
small animals which are used as draught or pack 
animals. The word donkey more correctly refers 
to the latter, and they are used as both carriers 
and draught animals in the western mountains and 
plains of the United States, and also to some 
extent for children's riding animals, much the 
same as Shetland ponies are used. 

In our Western States they are known as 
"burros," a name undoubtedly of Spanish origin. 
The burro breed is presumably descended from 
stock originally brought in by the Spanish 
settlers of our western country. 

The burro, or donkey, played an important 



76 



A COUNTRY READER 



part in the settlement of the Far West. These 
little animals were of special value in mountain- 
ous districts both on account of their sure- 
footedness, and their great carrying power. In 
fact, even to the present day, they are used in 







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BURROS. 



the mountains and upon the deserts, by pro- 
spectors and travelers. They are almost inva- 
riably used as "pack" animals; that is to say, 
they are used to carry loads on their backs. 
They will carry over tlie mountains a pack 
weighing more than a horse could possibly 
draw behind it, and this, together with their 
sure-footedness and steadiness, makes them safe 



THE DONKEY 77 

in places where accidents would be almost cer- 
tain if horses were used. 

Then too, as we have seen, the donkey will 
live and thrive where a horse would starve. 
Donkeys will eat almost anything that grows — 
will browse upon the coarsest bushes, which a 
horse would not touch. It is not necessary to 
carry along food for the donkey. He is simply 
turned out to browse while the traveler is in 
camp, and he is to be depended upon to find 
enough to eat if there is any vegetation around. 

The donkey can also survive longer without 
water than a horse can. In the desert regions 
this quality is of special importance. For there 
are few streams and springs, and often the water 
necessary to keep man and beast alive has to be 
carried along. It is said that the burro can go 
two or three days without water and food and 
no serious results will follow. Few horses could 
stand such hardship without serious injury. 

Thus we see that the much-despised and ill- 
treated donkey has his work to perform, and he 
usually does it well. He is slow, but sure-footed 
and steady. To the prospector, the miner, the 
mountain or desert traveler in the great West, 
his services have been and are still almost indis- 
pensable. 



CHAPTER III 

THE MULE 

The mule is a hybrid animal. That is, it is 
the result of a cross between two distinct types 
of the horse family : the ass and the horse. 

Mules may be used for all purposes to which 
horses are adapted, and in some work may be 
used with greater advantage. Mules excel horses 
in their capacity for hard work, their endurance, 
length of life, and economy of feeding. The 
mule is also less subject to disease than the 
horse. As an instance of the endurance of these 
animals, they may, in cases of emergency, be 
worked for tw^enty-four hours or more without 
water and for even two or three days without 
food. Such treatment would permanently dis- 
able a horse, but the mule will fully recover. 
The value of this ability to endure hardship is 
of especial importance in the rough work of 
wagon trains, during army movements, and this 
is the reason w^hy mules are almost invariably 
used on army wagons. 

For heavy and continuous draughting W'Ork, 
under difficult or unfavorable conditions, mules 
are generally preferred to horses. Although 

78 



THE MULE 79 

their temper may be less certain than that of 
horses, they are less excitable, and therefore 
are better suited for work where pkmging or an 
unsteady gait w^ould be dangerous. Mules are 
almost invariably used for drawing heavy farm 
machinery, such as the large harvesting ma- 
chines used in the Western States. 

In the Southern States two types of mules are 
known, and they have been given names suggest- 
ing their sjjecial fitness for the different w^ork 
that they have to do in the southern industries : 
the "cotton mule" and the "sugar mule." The 
cotton mule is a smaller and cheaper animal. 
The w^ork in the cotton field is not so heavy, and 
a smaller animal may thus be used. The sugar 
mule is a larger, more powerful, and much more 
valuable animal. The Avork in the sugar-cane 
fields is very heavy and arduous, and only a 
powerful mule is capable of performing it. The 
economy in feeding and caring for mules, together 
with their ability to stand heavy and continuous 
work, and their freedom from disease make them 
specially fitted for the conditions of cotton and 
sugar raising. In fact, so important a factor 
has the mide become in this work, that it is 
doubtful whether the industries could be success- 
fully carried on without him. 

The management and care of mules are prac- 
tically the same as for horses. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE COW 

Wild Cattle 

In the last chapter you have read that it is 
stated by scientific men, who have given a care- 
ful study to the question, that the forefathers of 
the present domesticated horse, the wild horses, 
lived and wandered in herds over dry plains ; 
that they developed their quick hearing, their 
keen eyesight, great staying powers, and high 
speed in their endeavors to escape being cap- 
tured and eaten by the enemies which lived 
around them. 

Now, if you observe and consider the natural 
habits and bodily formation of our domesticated 
cattle, you will come to the conclusion that their 
wild forefathers, the wild cattle, could not have 
lived on open, dry plains, but that they must 
have lived in wet and marshy districts, which 
were probably w^ell studded with trees. 

As one proof of this, compare the foot of a 
horse with the foot of a cow. The foot of a 
horse is round, — it is really the nail of the third 
toe lengthened, hardened, and rounded, — hard, 

80 



THE COW 



81 



all in one piece, and so just suited to galloping 
at a great pace over dry and hard land. 

The foot of the cow, on the contrary, is 
really formed from two toes, with a slit between 
them. In consequence of this slit formation, 
the cow has no difficulty in walking through 




DIAGRAM OF THE COW. 



marshy land. But the foot of a horse will sink 
into marshy land, and as it acts like a sucker, 
it can only be withdrawn with a great muscu- 
lar effort ; thus really making double work of 
traveling. 

As you know, on level, hard ground a horse 
can outpace a cow or ox with the greatest ease. 
But race a horse and an ox over boggy land, 
and the ox will probably beat the horse. 

Travelers tell us that, wherever wild cattle 
are found, they Avill not of their own accord 
wander far away from woods ; and you must 



82 A COUNTRY READER 

have noticed how the cattle around you love to 
stand knee-deep in water, and under the shade 
of trees. 

You have read that a wild horse trusted to his 
speed to escape from his enemies ; but the wild 
cattle trusted more to their horns and great 
strength of neck to defend themselves against 
their foes. It would take a very hungry, very 
desperate pack of wolves, or other beasts of 
prey, to attack a herd of wild cattle when at 
bay, with their sharp horns and stout necks as 
weapons of defense. 

Men in the old days took advantage of this 
strength of neck and horn to use the ox for 
doing the work of the farm instead of using 
horses. In some parts of our country, especially 
in portions of the Southern States, oxen are 
still in very general use, and to-day pairs of 
oxen can be seen harnessed with a very old- 
fashioned form of yoke, — a yoke which fits on 
the nape of the neck, — with which the animals 
draw the carts or wagons. In France the yoke 
is fastened to the horns and brow, so that tlie 
horns, brow, and neck bear all the strain of 
carting heavy loads and dragging the plow. 
This will show you the immense strength of the 
ox's head, neck, and horns. 

An ox or cow is a very patient beast, not 
nearly so nervous or given to alarms as a horse. 



THE COW 83 

Speed and alertness and a very sensith^e 
nature were necessary on the part of the wild 
horse to enable it to escape from its enemies, 
and so this nervous disposition has been handed 
down, and is inherited by the horse of to-day. 

The wild cattle, on the other hand, knew that 
their best weapon of defense was their stout, 
strong neck and powerful horns, and that they 
could defend themselves best by standing together 
at bay, with their heads down, and calmly await- 
ing the attack of their enemies. This disposition 
has been handed down to the domestic cattle, 
and is seen in the patient, slow-moving ox and 
cow. 

As the coAv only makes a sufficient quantity 
of milk to fill its calf's large stomach and satisfy 
its hunger, perhaps twice a day, the calf must 
take in a large quantity of milk at one meal. In 
consequence of this it would have small chance 
of escaping from its enemies by speed, as does 
a colt, which has a small stomach and requires 
food often and in small quantities. Therefore, 
to obtain the large quantity of milk food that its 
young requires, the cow most cleverly conceals 
her calf while she wanders away, it may be for 
hours, to graze a sufficient quantity of herbage 
to turn into milk with which to satisfy her calf. 

Of course, when the cow is near her calf, she 
will defend it to the death against any beast of 




Flwio. W. f. Uaiiti^, F.^.o. 



ENGLISH WILD COW. 




I'li-jto. W. P. Dando, F.Z S. 



CALF OF THE WILD COW (^ ABOVE). 

The reduction of size in the picture, as compared with that of the cow, is less. 



THE COW 85 

prey that may attack it, and her horns, backed 
by courage and strength of neck and head, are 
very effective and terrible weapons of defense. 

You can now see why a cow has the means 
for storing a large quantity of milk. 

Man has taken advantage of this natural 
storage of milk, and has turned it to his own 
uses. 

Moreover, by careful feeding, housing, and 
attention generally, by taking away the calf 
from its mother and rearing it by hand, and 
especially by breeding from those cows which 
give naturally the greatest flow of milk, man 
has very considerably increased the quantity of 
milk given by the cow of to-day, as compared 
with the quantity given by her ancestors in 
their wild state. 

You will notice, when a foal lies down, it 
stretches itself out at full length with no effort 
at concealment. But a calf will always curl 
itself up, as if anxious to conceal itself. 

Then you must have observed that, when a 
horse is alarmed, he throws his head as high as 
he can, as if he wanted to get as extensive a 
view as possible of the approach of an enemy. 
But down goes the head of a cow if she is 
alarmed, as if she were looking for the approach 
of her enemy amidst the trees. 

So, from the formation of a cow, her foot, her 



86 A COUNTRY READER 

power of giving large quantities of milk at one 
time, the habits of herself and her calf, it is 
thought that the wild forefathers of our present 
domesticated cattle lived amidst marshy ground 
thickly studded with trees. 

The native wild cattle of America are com- 
monly called " buffaloes," although their proper 
name is bisons. In some way the name buf- 
falo has come into general use, and few j)eople 
even know that the name bison has ever been 
applied to our native cattle. These cattle existed 
on the plains of the Far West in countless num- 
bers; but with the building of the Overland Rail- 
road to California and the westward advance of 
civilization the enormous herds of these great 
animals which once roamed over the boundless 
prairies have been reduced to a very few individ- 
uals which are only to be found in our protected 
national parks. The animal is therefore practi- 
cally extinct as a wild animal. 

Tlie wholesale destruction of the buffaloes is 
not very creditable to our American civilization ; 
because the animals were ruthlessly slaughtered 
solely for their skins, while all the rest of the 
carcasses was wasted. It is said that only the 
skins of the cows were used, as the bulls' skins 
were difficult to handle. No wonder, therefore, 
that within comparatively few years the animals 
were practically exterminated. 




THE lilSOM, 



88 a country reader 

Milk 

A young calf has to grow, that is, to make 
muscles, fat, bones, horns, hoofs, and hair. If 
the calf is left naturally with its mother, it 
builds up all this and grows on milk as its only 
food. Therefore you must come to the conclu- 
sion that milk is a perfect food, especially for 
young and growing things. This conclusion of 
yours is borne out by scientific men who by 
different methods have carefully analyzed or 
examined milk. And they will tell you that 
milk is made up of four principal parts, namely : 
water, fat, curd, and salts or solids. 

The water of the milk is simply the fluid in 
which the fats and curd are suspended and the 
salts or solids are dissolved. The water of the 
milk is present in much larger proportion than 
any of the other ingredients, though it is not 
the most important ; it is only the carrier of 
the nourishing portions of the milk. 

The fat of milk is the portion from which 
butter is made. It supplies fat to the animal 
and so keeps it warm. 

The curd of milk is the portion from which 
cheese is made. It supplies the animal with 
material for making muscle and lean meat. 

If you dry up a quantity of milk, you will find 
that there is left behind very little solid mat- 



THE COW 89 

ter. This solid matter is made up partly of 
milk sugar and partly of mineral salts, which 
the young animal requires to build up its bones 
and make them strong and elastic. 

So you see milk gives to the young animal 
fat and warmth and materials from which to 
form muscle, lean meat, bones, hoofs, horns, and 
hair. 

There is nothing that requires more care, 
cleanliness, and sweet surroundings and an even, 
cool temperature than milk, cream, butter, and 
cheese. 

Milk takes up odors very readily. If you 
stand milk in a room smelling strongly of any 
powerful odor, say onions, salt fish, or paint, 
the milk will soon absorb the odor, and the 
butter which is made from it will smell and 
taste in like manner. 

If butter is made in a proper manner and 
amidst clean surroundings, it will have a sweet, 
pleasant odor, but if you allow it to remain 
in an unclean, badly smelling place, it will 
very soon absorb and give off an unpleasant 
odor. 

Not only bad odors and dirty surroundings 
affect milk and all that is made from it, but 
the food of the cow will affect the flavor and 
smell of milk and butter. 

A cow fed on clean and sweet, wholesome 



90 A COUNTRY READER 

hay and feed, or grazing on clean, well-drained 
pasturage where there is growing a variety of 
sweet, nourishing grasses or clover, and above 
all where she can get a plentiful supply of pure 
water, will give wholesome milk, rich and sweet 
to the taste. Such milk will yield butter of a 
good, rich, straw color, and of pleasant, sweet 
flavor. But a cow fed on poor, dry feed, con- 
taining little nourishment, and having dirty, 
foul-smelling water to drink, can never give 
rich, wholesome milk of good flavor. 

Strong-smelling herbs or roots fed to a cow 
will also impart disagreeable flavors to her 
milk. Strong turnips, wild onion, or garlic, 
" May weed," and other strongly aromatic 
plants, when eaten by cows, often wholly de- 
stroy the usefulness of their milk. In some 
parts of our country, where the pastures are 
poor, the cows often graze on aromatic plants, 
with bad results to themselves and their 
milk. 

So you can see at once that, if your cow is 
to supply you sweet-smelling, nicely flavored, rich 
milk and butter, the greatest care must be taken 
to make all her surroundings as clean and as 
healthy as possible. Also, the ]3asturage and 
other food which the cow eats must be of such 
a nature as will enable her to yield good, rich, 
untainted milk. 



THE COW 91 

How TO MAKE Butter 

The butter of the milk, called " butter fat," 
floats about in small globules in the milk itself, 
and these are called '• fat glol)ules." So tiny are 
these small globules that it takes two thousand 
of the largest of them and twenty thousand of 
the smallest of them, jDlaced side by side, to 
cover an inch. 

Cream is really highly condensed milk, rich 
in fat, and when you make butter, your one 
ol^ject is to isolate or separate these fat par- 
ticles or globules from everything else in the 
milk. 

When we make butter, we use the cream of 
the milk, because the cream contains most of 
the fat globules, and consequently they are more 
easily separated or '^ broken away " than if we 
were to use whole milk. The first thing to do 
in making butter is to separate the cream in as 
short a time as possible. 

There are two methods of doing this — the 
old and the new. The old method is as follows: 
The warm milk as it comes from the cow, at 
a temperature of about 96 degrees, is taken to 
a cool place or " dairy," where it is placed or 
"set" in shallow vessels or pans. To cause the 
cream to rise as quickly as possible, the dairy 
should be kept cool, or better still, the shallow 



92 A COUNTRY READER 

vessels containing the milk should themselves 
be placed in clean, cold water. 

As the fat globules are lighter than the other 
ingredients, they naturally rise and collect to- 
gether in a condensed mass on the surface of the 
milk. When the cream has fully risen to the 
top of the milk, it is skimmed off and placed 
in vessels to allow it " to ripen," as it is called. 
This ripening process is necessary, because after 
the cream has passed through it, it is in the 
most suitable condition for making butter. The 
ripening is the result of a process of fermenta- 
tion, by small germs working on the cream, very 
similar to the work of fermentation which in 
bread-makino; causes the douo-h t j rise. 

The process is something like the souring of 
milk, and the proper point of ripening is best 
told by experience, although there are some 
scientific tests to determine it. Such tests are, 
however, applical^le only in large dairies. 

The new method of extracting the cream is 
by the use of a machine called a "cream sepa- 
rator." The fresh milk is run into the inte- 
rior of the separator, which is so arranged that 
it can be revolved at a very great speed. This 
high rotary speed causes the watery particles, 
which are the heavier particles, to fly outward, 
on the same principle that a stone or weight at- 
tached to a cord will fly outward when twirled 



THE COW 



93 



rapidly. The watery portion, therefore, collects 
at the outer edge of the rapidly revolving in- 
terior portion of the separator, where a device 
is arranged to conduct it to a spout from which 
it runs as sejDarated or '^ skim " milk. The fat 
globules of the milk, being lighter than the 
water}^ particles, are at 
the same time retained 
nearer the center of 
the revolving bowl, 
where a device is also 
arranged to conduct 
the fat or cream glob- 
ules to another spout 
from which they issue 
from the separator as 
cream. So the sepa- 
rated or skim milk 
runs out of one tap, 
while the cream runs 
out of another. The 

separator extracts 92 to 98 per cent of the 
cream, whereas the setting in shallow vessels 
extracts only 80 per cent. 

When separators were hrst invented, they were 
designed for and used in large dairies only or by 
persons owning a large number of cows. The 
larger machines required steam or other power 
to operate them. At the present time smaller 




A SEPAP.ATUK. 



94 A COUNTRY READER 

separators are manufactured, which may be run 
by hand-power ; so it is now^ j^^^^i^^l^ ^^^ profit- 
able for the small farmer, or one who owns only 
a few cow^s, to operate a sejDarator. The skim 
milk however, left after skimming the cream 
from the milk set in shallow vessels, has more 
feeding value than the milk obtained from tlie 
separator, because the latter, being deprived of 
practically all of the fat globules, is no longer 
as complete a food as the hand skimmed milk. 
This fact the farmer has to take into considera- 
tion when he uses separated skim milk in feeding 
his calves. 

At the same time it should be borne in mind 
that instead of having to keep the milk twenty- 
four hours before it is skimmed, it can at once 
be placed in the separator and the cream ex- 
tracted in a very short time. 

This is an advantage, because there is less 
chance of the cream taking up any smells or 
dirt that there may be about, and less chance of 
its being affected by the weather. Moreover, the 
cream from the separator is more uniform, and 
therefore makes a more uniform quality of butter. 

Uniformity of quality is essential in supplying 
the large modern markets. 

When the cream is ripened, that is when it is 
in the best condition for making butter, it is 
churned. 



THE COW 



95 



Churnin^g 

The object of churning is, by violent concus- 
sion, to break up the butter globules of the cream 
and mix air with them until the minute fat 




BARREL POWER CHURN. 



globules adhere together to form small grains 
of butter about the size of wheat kernels. 

There are many kinds and styles of churns. 
All, however, have the same end in view, 
namely, subjecting the cream to a violent 



96 A COUNTRY READER 

concussion or dashing motion. No doubt many 
of you have seen old pictures of farm housewives 
churning by simply moving a " dasher " up and 
down and through the cream. Butter can be 
made by simply shaking the ripened cream in a 
partly filled bottle or " fruit jar." Many me- 
chanical churns have been invented. Some have 
the body stationary, having a system of dashers 
which are operated by mechanical means. 
Others inclose the cream in a tight, angular 
vessel and then revolve the whole churn, thus 
dashing the cream about and agamst the sides. 
Most of the large power churns are made on 
this principle. 

Although nothing but cream or fat is supposed 
to be placed in the churn, there always remains 
a quantity of milk mixed with the fat globules, 
which becomes " buttermilk," when the fat 
globules have united into grains of butter. The 
buttermilk must be drawn away from the butter 
grains. This is done by draining it from the 
churn by means of an opening provided for 
the purpose. Fresh water is then added and 
the churn is operated again for a short time, 
and the water drawn off. This is repeated 
several times. The water has the effect of 
washing away all the milk which surrounds the 
butter grains, and when the stream of water 
from the churn runs quite clean, you know that 



THE COW 97 

the water has done all that it can to remove the 
buttermilk. 

The butter grains must then be removed from 
the churn and worked by hand. This working 
by hand should consist simply of pressure in 
order to form the butter grains into solid butter, 
and in doing so press out any buttermilk which 
may still be left. In working butter you must 
see to it that no slipping, sliding, or ladling 
motion be used, because butter worked in this 
way loses its granular structure, and becomes 
greasy and poorly flavored. One test of first- 
class butter is its granular structure, that is, 
when the butter is cut or broken, the little 
wheat-sized grains must be discernible through 
the mass. 

Remember also that butter is a very sensitive 
substance, and that there are very few hands 
fitted to press these butter grains into solid 
butter. The reason of this is that there is con- 
stantly coming away from most human hands 
an insensible perspiration, which affects the 
butter, making it greasy. In the whole opera- 
tion everything which touches the butter must 
be kept cold : another reason why the human 
hands should not be brought in direct contact 
with the butter. Warmth will make it greasy 
and cause it to lose its flavor. Much good 
butter is spoiled in the working. 



H 



98 A COUNTRY READER 

All sorts of implements liave been invented, 
so that in removing the grains from the 
churn, pressing the grains into solid butter, 
forming the butter into different shapes or 
patterns pretty to the eye, it need never be 
touched by the human hand. 

In America butter is nearly always salted, the 
quantity of salt used varying according to the 
taste and requirements of the market to be 
supplied. 

Great care must be used in salting. If the 
salt is not thoroughly mixed with the butter, the 
latter will look streaked or marbled, and will not 
bring the highest price. The best time for add- 
ing salt is when the grains are first taken away 
from the churn. The salt is mixed by turning 
the salt and butter over and over. The butter 
should then be allowed to stand for a short 
time until the salt is dissolved, and then the 
'^ making" should begin. 

When the salt has been dissolved and the 
butter grains pressed into solid butter, it must 
remain in a cool place, covered up with a wet 
muslin cloth. The wet muslin cloth keeps the 
butter cool. The cooling is caused by the rapid 
evaporation, or escape into the air, of the water 
in the cloth, and the escape of the water into 
the air from the cloth draws the heat from the 
butter and so cools it. The cooling makes the 



THE COW 99 

butter firm, and adds to the length of tune it 
will keep good and sweet. In fact butter can- 
not be kept fit for use if it is allowed to become 
heated. 

Remember that in taking your butter to the 
market, not only should it be well made, of a 
nice, straw-yellow color, and of a good flavor, 
but it should look clean and attractive to the 
eye. It will then bring a few cents more per 
pound, and possibly make the difference between 
a profit and a loss. 

Butter should be firm and not greasy, so that 
when you cut it with a knife it cuts clean and 
does not stick to the knife. 

Butter is supposed to contain nothing but fat, 
but even the best made butter contains only 
83 to 88 per cent of fat, the balance being nearly 
all water. 

How Cheese is Made 

The second great product made from milk is 
cheese. There are many kinds of cheese, differ- 
ing from each other in flavor and appearance. 
These differences are due to different methods 
of making and ripening or curing, and also to 
differences in the feed cows obtain in different 
parts of the world. The different kinds of 
cheese usually bear the names of the countries 
or localities where tlie particular kind of cheese 

LOf C. 



100 A COUNTRY READER 

is made, as, for example, Swiss cheese, Edam 
cheese, Stilton cheese, and Cheddah cheese. 
Some of these different kinds of cheese are also 
made in other countries than those in which they 
originated. Thus, Swiss cheese is made in the 
United States. 

It would take far too long to enter into minute 
details of the various methods of making the dif- 
ferent cheeses. But there are certain general 
principles that guide the making of all hard 
cheeses. 

You have just read that butter particles are 
independent fat particles wliich float about in 
the body of the milk and, being lighter than the 
milk, collect at the surface when the milk is set 
in shallow vessels, or is rapidly revolved in the 
separator. 

Now, the curd from which cheese is made does 
not float about independently in the milk, and 
will not rise to its surface when the, milk is still 
or when it is rotated. The curd is bound up in 
the milk itself, and the great essential in mak- 
ing cheese was to find something that would 
compel the milk to deliver up its curd — to cause 
the curd to solidify. 

On examining the stomach of a calf that had 
been feeding on the natural milk of its mother, 
it was discovered that there was some thin 2: in 
the fourth compartment of the stomach that 



THE COW 101 

compelled the milk which the calf had swallowed 
to deliver up its curd. In fact, the curd neces- 
ssiYy to make cheese was found in the fourth 
compartment of a calf's stomach. A substance 
was then made from the fourth compartment of 
calves' stomachs, and called " rennet." 

There were some old-fashioned methods of 
forcing the milk to give up its curd, but the 
modern method of " renneting " the milk, as it is 
termed, is by far the best. 

The new milk is strained and run into large 
vessels or vats. These vessels have around them 
or underneath them jackets which contain water 
or steam, so that the milk can be warmed or 
cooled as the cheese maker wishes. 

After the milk is run into the vat, it is warmed, 
and the rennet is added. The curdling at once 
begins. This curdling shows that the rennet is 
forcing the milk to surrender its curd. 

The curd gradually begins to appear in the vat 
as a solid mass which, when formed, can be cut 
with a knife. 

The liquid portion of the milk now left is 
called '' whey," and this whey is run out of the 
vat by means of a tap. 

The curd mass is heaped up and allowed to 
drain ; it is cut with a special kind of knife so 
as to allow as much of the whey to escape as 
possible. Some salt is then added and mixed 



102 A COUNTRY READER 

thoroughly with it. The curd is then cut into 
small pieces by a mill, and is placed on a 
" cheese form." These cheese forms are then 
placed in a press, and great pressure is exerted 
upon them until the cheese is made firm and 
free from whey. 

You can see at once that this rolling, heaping 
up, cutting, and pressure are to make the curd 
firm by forcing out of it all the whey. 

The cheeses have then a cloth bandage placed 
round them and are taken into a curing room, 
where they remain under careful treatment until 
they are ready for eating. 

It must not be forgotten that the butter fat 
still remains in the curd and therefore in the 
cheese ; in fact, it is the butter fat which gives 
cheese a rich flavor. 

Sometimes cheese is made from milk from 
which a large portion of the butter fat has been 
removed by the separator, thus making it possible 
to produce both butter and cheese from the same 
milk. In order, however, to give such cheese its 
full share of fat, other fats have to be added in 
the process of manufacture. Such cheese has 
been named " filled cheese," and it is very inferior 
to that made from the full milk. It is really 
adulterated cheese. 

The Avhey, all that is left of the milk after the 
curd and butter fat have been taken from it, con- 



THE COW 103 

tains the sugar and most of the ash, and of course 
a little butter fat, — not much, — that has been 
left behind. 

Whey therefore must have some good feeding 
properties, though not so many as skim or sepa- 
rated milk, because skim or separated milk has 
had only the butter fat taken from it, while the 
curd still remains in the milk. 

Whey must be used at once while sweet, because 
its sugar soon turns to lactic acid, and then it is 
valueless for feeding. 

Whey, when good, helps to keep and fatten 
pigs, and therefore, on farms where cheese is 
made, a sufficient number of pigs ought to be 
kept to use up the whey. 

There is no work connected with a farm that 
requires a more lengthened experience than 
cheese making, and there is no work harder and 
more anxious. A high order of workmanship is 
required in order to turn out a first-class and 
well-ripened cheese. 

Many years ago, all the cheese and butter sold 
in our markets were made on the farm by the 
farmer who owned the cows. Every farmer was 
his own cheese maker and butter maker. Nowa- 
days most of the butter and practically all the 
cheese sold in our large markets are made in 
'' creameries " and cheese factories. These cream- 
eries and cheese factories buy the milk from the 



104 A COUNTRY KEADER 

farmers of the neighborhood. The factories are 
fitted up with the best machinery and the work 
is in the charge of men who devote their entire 
attention to the making of cheese and butter. In 
this way, not only is the process of manufacture 
cheapened, but the products are more uniform. 

How A Breed is formed and kept True 

It is well known by most people that there are 
a great many different kinds of cattle, and it 
is also well known that each kind is called a 
'^ breed." Now we often hear certain men spoken 
of as originators of breeds. Let us see just what 
this means, and also learn, if we can, how there 
came to be different kinds or breeds of animals. 

All our domesticated cattle have descended 
from the same parent stock, the nearest represen- 
tatives of which are to be seen at the Zoological 
Gardens in London, England. These cattle are 
knowm as Chillingworth cattle, because a certain 
number of them have run wild for generations 
in Chillingworth Park, situated in the northern 
]3ortion of England. 

If these cattle had been left wild in their 
native locality, they would probably be much 
the same to-day as they were centuries ago. Let 
us suppose, however, that some of these original 
wild cattle were transported to different parts of 
the world. They would naturally find conditions 



THE COW 105 

different from those existing in their native liome. 
Climates would be different and the grasses and 
herbs upon which they would have to feed Avould 
also be different. The animals would, therefore, 
have to become adapted to these new conditions, 
and gradually changes would occur. If these 
slit^ht differences were accumulated throu^^h a 
number of generations, the descendants would 
at last become so different from their original 
ancestors that the result would be a new breed. 
You see, therefore, that simple change of con- 
ditions will form a new breed if sufficient time 
elapses. 

But how does a man secure and fix a breed ? 
will naturally be asked. He must, of course, 
have some cattle to start with. He may have 
certain ideals in view as to what he wishes his 
cattle to become. He may wish them to yield 
him more milk in proportion to the food which 
they eat, or he may wish them to produce a 
heavier weight of well flavored, tender meat at 
an earlier ag^e. He therefore selects such ani- 
mals as vary slightly in the direction toward 
the ideals he has in mind. 

If greater quantities of milk are desired, he 
weighs the food given to each animal and also 
weighs the quantity of milk yielded, and its fat 
contents. If meat improvement is wanted, the 
food given to the animal and its gain in weight 



106 A COUNTRY READER 

at short intervals are recorded. Then he selects 
and rears only calves of such of his strong and 
healthy cows as give the largest return in milk 
or live .weight for the feed consumed. 

Pure-bred stock" is " reg:istered." This reg^is- 
tering gives the animal what is termed a " pedi- 
gree." That is, all of the parents, grandparents, 
great grandparents, etc., have been registered, and 
therefore the full family history of the animals 
is known. These family histories are recorded 
in what are known as '"herdbooks" of the dif- 
ferent breeds, and they are maintained by 
national associations of breeders. 

In buying registered animals — which are al- 
ways high-priced — the family history recorded 
in the herdbook should be carefully studied, so 
that the buyer may know all about the descent 
of the animal which he is purchasing. 

These are the methods by which the well- 
known breeds of cattle have been established. 
We therefore have to-day breeds suitable to all 
kinds of uses and adapted to all kinds of condi- 
tions and requirements. Some cattle have been 
bred solely for their milk, and naturally every- 
thing else about the animal has been sacrificed 
for milk production. The breeds which have 
been established with this sole purpose in view 
are known as '^ dairv breeds " of cattle. 

We have seen that the main purpose of these ' 



THE COW 107 

dairy breeds is to produce milk — the largest 
quantity of the richest milk in proportion to the 
food which the animals eat. As will naturally 
be expected, these dairy cattle do not fatten well. 
If you see a fat cow, you may, as a rule, be sure 
that that cow's yield of milk is not large in quan- 
tity or rich in quality. Most of what the cows 
eat should be made into milk ; hence the best 
dairy cows do not fatten. This is often cited 
as an objection to their use by the ordinary 
farmer. It is said that after his dairy cow ceases 
to be profitable as a milk producer, she is almost 
valueless, as slie cannot be fattened for first- 
class beef. Therefore it is argued that a breed 
which will serve both purposes is the best for the 
general farmer. And there are such breeds, as 
we shall see later on. 

\yhile there are breeds established solely for 
milk production, there are, on the other hand, 
breeds which turn nearly all of the food which 
they consume into fat and meat. The amount 
and quality of their milk is low, and they are 
bred solely for sale to the butcher. These breeds 
are known as " beef breeds " of cattle. They 
are altogether different in appearance from the 
dairy breeds. 

The general outline of a good dairy animal 
when viewed from the side may be compared 
to the outline of a wedge ; and a cow which 



108 A COUNTRY READER 

possesses this outline to a great degree is said 
to conform to the desirable dairy wedge shape. 
The beef cow's outline is that of a parallelogram. 

Breeds of Dairy Cattle in America 

All of the breeds of cattle to be found in the 
United States were imported from Great Britain 
and the western portions of Europe. It is 
probable that all had a common origin. 

From the writings of Julius Caesar and Pliny, 
two thousand years ago, we learn that wild cattle 
lived in the forests which at that j^eriod covered 
most of the land around what is now the great city 
of London. It is thought that the natural condi- 
tions which prevailed resulted in the formation 
of two distinct types of cattle — one of which 
found existence on the high, dr}^, and rocky up- 
lands, the other of which reveled in the richer 
herbage of the moister plains. 

The cattle which lived amidst the rougher 
surroundings of the hillsides acquired hardier 
constitutions and were leaner and rougher-look- 
ing than the cattle of the plains. The cattle of 
the plains, on the other hand, grew sleek and fat. 
It is altogether unlikely that there was any 
intermixing of the two strains, and in time two 
distinct types of wild cattle were established. 

In the domesticated cattle of to-day we can 
trace special characteristics which were fixed by 



THE COW 109 

life on the hills or life on the plains in the 
remote past. The Ayrshires, the Irish Kerries, 
the Scotch Highland cattle, have the hardiest 
strain of their remote hill ancestors in their 
veins, while the Jerseys, the Guernseys, the 
Holstein-Friesians, and the Devons have the 
more delicate strain of their remote ancestors 
of the plains. The well-known Shorthorns or 
Durhams seem to embody characteristics of both 
hill and plain strains. We have therefore in 
the Shorthorn a general or dual purpose animal. 

Straight Dairy Breeds 

The principal breeds of cows used in the 
United States for dairy purposes are Jerseys, 
Holstein-Friesians, Ayrshires, Guernseys, Dutch 
Belted, and Kerries. There are many thousands 
of registered pure-bred animals of these breeds, 
and in addition a great many more which have 
been either crossed with common stock or which 
have not been bred sufficiently true to be admitted 
to register. Nevertheless, there are many ex- 
cellent animals among this latter class. The 
breeds mentioned above are strictly milk breeds. 
There are also a number of breeds suitable both 
for beef and milk production, which are largely 
used in our country, as we shall see later on. 

We will now give a short account of th(^ 
breeds named. A detailed description of eacli 



110 



A COUNTRY READER 



would occupy too much space for our little book, 
and in addition would be very dry and unsatis- 
factory reading. The only sure way to learn 
all about a particular breed is to study the points 
from the animal itself. 



The Jersey 

This breed takes its name from the Island of 
Jersey, one of the Channel Islands which lie 
south of Great Britain. The island is about 




JERSEYS. 



45 miles from Great Britain and only 13 miles 
from the coast of France. It is 11 miles long and 
averages less than 6 miles wide, just about the 
size of Staten Island in New York Harbor. All 
the arable land of the island is owned by about 



THE COW 111 

2000 persons; the size of each liolcling ranges 
from 3 to 30 acres. The total number of inhabit- 
ants is 60,000. In manners and customs the 
people are more French than English, the pre- 
vailino; lano^uao:e beino; the old Norman French. 
Notwithstanding its proximity to the coast of 
France and the prevailing French tendencies, 
the Island of Jersey is one of the most loyal 
parts of the British Empire. 

The island is noted for its great productive- 
ness. Owing to the mild climate, which has an 
average temperature of about 50 degrees with an 
average yearly rainfall of about 30 inches, three 
crops a year may be produced. The staple crop 
is potatoes, which being marketed earlier than 
either the French or English potatoes in the 
London markets realize a higher price. 

The Jersey breed of cattle was developed and 
fixed on this island. The original stock, in 
all probability, came from Brittany, one of the 
northern provinces of France. A law was passed 
in the year 1779 prohibiting the importation of 
any living animal of the bovine tribe. This law 
has been strictly enforced to the present day, 
and has enabled the Jersey breeders not only 
to develop and fix a type of cattle wholly suited 
to their ideals, but the prohibition of importation 
has kept the island free from the many diseases 
of cattle which have raged elsewhere. As a 



112 A COUNTRY READER 

consequence, the Jersey cattle possess a good 
constitution, are vigorous, and are especially free 
from disease in their own country. They are the 
smallest of the dairy breeds of cattle, and owing 
to their high breeding are inclined to be ner- 
vous and delicate when introduced into countries 
havins^ more rig-orous climates than that of their 
native island ; yet, perhaps, no other breed of 
dairy cattle has been more widely introduced 
throughout the United States. They are to be 
found in all portions of the country either as 
pure-bred animals or as '' grade " animals. The 
breed is therefore an exceedingly adaptive one. 

In consequence of the limited area of the 
Island of Jersey and the great value of the land, 
the cows are never turned out loose to pasture. 
Instead, they are tethered, the tethers being 
moved about several times a day. The cattle 
are never driven; they are always led. And 
this is usually done by women. The animals, 
therefore, are accustomed to kind treatment, 
and have become in consequence very gentle and 
docile, although somewhat nervous. In their 
native home they are out-of-doors most of the 
year, and are often milked in the field. 

Grass and roots, chiefly parsnips, which are 
grown in great quantity for this purpose, are the 
chief food given the cattle ; little or no grain is 
given them. 



THE COW 113 

Owing: to the fact that the cows of the 
Island of Jersey produced more milk than 
the inhabitants required, a market had to be 
found for the surplus. If fresh, sweet milk 
could not be marketed, butter could; so, natu- 
rally, the breeders of Jersey Island cattle bred 
and fixed a type of animal which would pro- 
duce milk especially rich in butter fat. There- 
fore it is that the milk of Jersey cows is to this 
day the richest in butter fat. It takes only two 
gallons, on an average, of Jersey milk to make a 
pound of butter, while it requires from two and 
one-half to three gallons of other milk to make 
the same amount. The milk is often so rich 
that it has to be diluted before calves and young 
children can be safely fed with it. 

Some very careful tests of Jersey cows have 
been made. From 140 cows kept under average 
dairy farm conditions, and recorded for 6 years, 
a yearly average of 515 gallons of milk per 
cow, yielding 293 pounds of butter, was obtained. 
Good cows have yielded 350 to 400 pounds of 
butter per year, and in exceptional cases 600, 
700, 800, and even as high as 1000 pounds of 
butter are said to have been produced by one cow. 
In addition to being exceedingly rich in butter 
fat, Jersey milk has the fat globules very large 
and uniform. This makes separation of the 
cream and churning very much easier than is the 



114 A COUNTRY READER 

case where the fat globules are small or not 
uniform. The butter from Jersey milk is of 
a rich golden color. 

The Jersey cows range from 700 to 1000 pounds 
and the bulls from 1200 to 1800 pounds in weight. 
Sometimes strains are bred up which average 
larger and heavier. 

The color of the animals varies considerably. 
For a time it was thought that, in order to be 
pure, the cattle of the Jersey breed had to be a 
solid color, that is, all of one color. This is 
erroneous. There are registered Jerseys of all 
shades of brown to deep black, and of various 
shades of yellow, fawn, and tan colors to a 
creamy white. There are some mouse-colored or 
gray ; some are light red, and a few are brin- 
dled. There are also some high-grade Jersey 
cattle which are spotted, either with large or 
small patches of wdiite occurring on any part 
of the body. 

The Jerseys are large feeders, and they will 
bear very rich feeding. In good animals all 
the extra food consumed, over and above the 
amount they require to support them in health 
and strength, is converted into milk. The 
greatest drawback to their use by general 
farmers is that as soon as they pass the profit- 
able milking age their usefulness practically 
ceases. Having been bred solely as butter- 



THE COW 115 

making machines, they do not fatten easily, and 
hence cannot profitably be nsed for beef. The 
profit from the Jerseys must be made during 
their milking period. 

The Holstein-Friesiak 

This is one of the oldest and most nota- 
ble of the dairy breeds. The breed has been 
known under different names, both in Europe 
and America, and there was considerable dispute 
before the present name was adopted. " Holland 
Cattle," ''North Hollanders," "Dutch Cattle," 
" Holsteins," " Dutch-Friesians," and " Nether- 
land Cattle," are some of the names which have 
been given to the type of cattle that are now 
recognized as Holstein-Friesians. 

It is claimed that this breed of cattle can be 
traced back two thousand years, and the breed 
has ever since occupied the same territory, a ter- 
ritory which has always been noted for its dairy 
products. Tradition informs us that before the 
beginning of Christian times, two tribes settled 
on the shores of the North Sea. One tribe pos- 
sessed a race of pure white cattle, while the other 
tribe possessed one nearly pure black. In course 
of time the two tribes intermingled, and there 
was in consequence an intermingling of their 
cattle. The mixture produced the character- 
istic black and white spotted animals which are 



116 A COUNTRY READER 

typical of the Holstein-Friesian breed as we know 
it to-day. 

Perhaps we cannot do better than quote in full 
an extract from Farmer's Bulletin No. 106, of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, which 
gives an excellent description of the methods of 
rearing these cattle in their native land. 

" The preservation of the Friesian people and 
their continued adhesion to cattle breeding for 
more than two thousand years is one of the mar- 
vels of history. Always few in number, the con- 
flicts of w^ar and commerce have raged over and 
around them, yet they have remained in or near 
their original home, continuously following their 
original pursuits. Their farmhouses are fash- 
ioned after the same general model; the one 
immense roof covers everything that requires 
protection. Here the cattle find shelter during 
the long and rigorous winter months. Here they 
are fed and groomed and watched for months 
without being turned from the door. Here the 
family is also sheltered, sometimes with only a 
single partition between the cattle stalls and the 
kitchen and living room. Everything is kept 
with a degree of neatness marvelous to those not 
accustomed to such system. The cattle become 
the pets of the household. At the opening of 
spring or when grass is sufficiently grown they 
are taken to the fields and cared for in the most 



THE COW 117 

quiet manner. Canvas covers protect their bodies 
from sun, and storm, and insects. The grasses 
upon which they feed are rich and luxurious, and 
the animals have to move about very little to 
gather sufficient food. On the first appearance 
of winter they are returned to the stable and the 
simple round of the year is completed. This 
round is repeated until the cattle are six or seven 
years of age, when they are usually considered as 
past the period of dairy profit and are sent to the 
shambles. The object is always to produce as 
much milk and beef as possible from the same 
animal. With this twofold object in view, selec- 
tion, breeding, and feeding have been continued 
for ages." (Houghton.) 

The Holstein-Friesians are the larg^est of all 
the dairy breeds. Their frames are big and 
bony, and usually well filled out. The animals 
of this breed have strong constitutions and are 
large feeders, but they are dainty about their 
food. If they are to yield the largest profit, 
they must have an abundance of rich food with- 
out the necessity of much exertion to obtain it. 
They are quiet and docile. 

The calves are large and almost always strong 
and thrifty ; they grow fast and fatten easily. 
The heifers reach their full maturity at two and 
a half years old. The cows range in weight 
between 1000 and 1500 pounds. The bulls, 



118 A COUNTRY READER 

when they are full-grown, are very large and 
heavy^ often weighing over 2500 pounds. 

The breed is famous for producing enormous 
quantities of milk. Many cows, it is said, have 
given each month more than their own liv- 
ing weight in milk, for 10 or 12 consecutive 
months. There are many instances on record of 
one cow giving each day 100 pounds, or 10 
gallons of milk, for several days in succession, 
and 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of milk, or between 
2000 or 3000 gallons, in one year. Average 
cows are expected to give 40 to 60 pounds (4 to 
6 gallons) per day. 

Holstein-Friesian milk is not as rich as 
Jersey milk in butter fat. But owing to the 
enormous quantities of milk which the cows 
produce, it does not require a large percentage 
of butter fat to yield large quantities of butter, 
and the average yield of butter per year is 
larger than it is for the Jerseys. One herd, it 
is said, averaged 308 pounds of butter per year 
for 4 consecutive years. There are also rec- 
ords of 500 and 600 pounds of butter per 3'^ear, 
and one instance is recorded where a cow yielded 
1153 pounds in a year. 

Holstein-Friesian milk also differs from Jersey 
milk in the small size of its fat globules. The 
globules are uniform in size, but the butter does 
not carry a high color. 



THE COW 119 

The Ayrshires 

This breed of cattle takes its name from the 
county of Ayr, in southwest Scotland, where the 
strain was bred and fixed. The county of Ayr 
is eighty miles long and borders on the river 
Clyde and the Irish Sea. It is a country of 
moderate fertility, with an undulating surface 
and a great deal of woodland. The climate 
is moist and rather windy, but it cannot be 
properly classed as severe. The natural vege- 
tation is somewhat poor and scanty, and 
therefore the cattle have to wander consider- 
able distances to obtain the food that thev 
requu^e. This has made the animals of this 
breed hardy, active, and well able to shift for 
themselves. They are therefore well suited to 
a hilly and rugged country, where good herbage 
is scarce. 

The Ayrshire breed is one of the youngest of 
the well-established breeds. It was established 
Avholly during the nineteenth century, and is 
thought to be nearer in relationship to the Chil- 
lingworth cattle, the wild cattle of Great Britain, 
than any other breed. It is said that, owing to 
this fact, the Ayrshires are rather wild and ner- 
vous. They must, therefore, be handled with the 
utmost kindness and patience. Kindness, gentle- 
ness, and firmness will gain their confidence and 



120 



A COUNTRY READER 




3t 

o 

H 

a 

a 



THE COW 121 

render them more easily controlled. But lose 
your patience and excite them, and they will 
use their horns to some purpose. 

The Ayrshire cattle are not large. The aver- 
age weight of the bulls at maturity is 1400 to 
1800 pounds, the weight of the cows ranging from 
900 to 1100 pounds. They give a fair supply of 
milk, more than the Jerseys, but not as much 
as the Holstein-Friesians. One thing in their 
favor is the fact that they can be fattened for 
the butcher when their milking qualities fail. 
The animals give meat of good quality. 

The yield of milk from Ayrshire cows is 
good. Herds have been bred which have 
yielded from 3500 to 7000 pounds of milk 
per cow in one year. The percentage of fat 
in this milk averaged oj per cent, which there- 
fore yielded about 150 to 300 pounds of butter 
annually. 

But the Ayrshires do not make good butter 
cows. The fat globule-s of their milk are small, 
and not uniform in size. The cream does not 
separate readily, and the butter is not easily 
churned. In addition, it lacks color. Their milk 
makes a satisfactory cheese, but, considering 
them as a whole, they are best suited for milk- 
ing purposes. The yield of milk is fairly abun- 
dant, and it is fully within the usual legal 
requirements for fat percentage. 



122 a country reader 

The Guernsey 

This breed derives its name from another of 
the Channel Islands, the Island of Guernsey. 
The island is 9 miles long and 4 wide, and in 
shape resembles a triangle. It contains 16,000 
acres, with a population of 35,000. Market gar- 
dening is the chief industry, cattle rearing being 
secondary in importance. There are only about 
5000 cattle owned on the island. 

Like the Jerseys, the Guernseys probably de- 
scended from old Normandy and Brittany ances- 
tors, but the breeders of the Guernsey cattle 
have retained more of the old Norman and 
Brittany characters than have the breeders of 
the Jersey strain. The same rigid exclusion 
of outside cattle prevails as in the Island of 
Jersey. 

The Guernsey cattle are more like the Jerseys 
than any other breed of cattle, but they are 
larger in the bone and are coarser looking ani- 
mals. They are usually light in color, yellow 
and orange predominating, with considerable 
white, mostly in large patches on the body and 
legs. The muzzles are almost invariably buff or 
flesh-colored. A characteristic of the Guernsey 
breed is the orange-colored skin. This can be 
seen especially about the eyes, in the ears, about 
the udder, and where the hair is white. In fact. 



THE COW 123 

this secretion of yellow coloring matter seems to 
extend to the milk as well, because the Guernsey 
milk is very highly colored, and the butter made 
from it has a higher natural color than that from 
any other milk. It is thought that the yellow 
color of the skin is in some way responsible for 
the deep, rich color of the milk. Whether this 
is so or not would be hard to prove or disprove ; 
nevertheless, the fact remains that Guernsey 
milk is " richer " colored than any other. 

A herd of 15 Guernsey cows, on a strict test, 
averaged 6626 pounds of milk per cow over a 
milking period of one year. The average of 
butter produced by each cow was 418 pounds. 
This bears out what was said above, regarding 
the richness of the Guernsey milk. It averages 
15 to 16 per cent of total solid matter in the milk, 
5 to 6 per cent being butter fat. It takes about 
17 pounds of Guernsey milk to make one pound 
of butter. 

Dutch Belted Cattle 

As the name of the breed implies, these cattle 
are so marked that they appear to have a wide 
belt, or girdle, around the body. They are jet 
black in color, with the exception of the broad 
band of pure white which encircles the body, be- 
ginning just at the back of the shoulders and 
extending in width nearly to the hips. In the 



124 A COUNTRY READER 

COWS the white band covers a portion of the 
udder. The breed originated in Holland, where 
it is said to have been established for over two 
centuries. It is probable that, like the Holstein- 
Friesian, this breed had its origin in the white 
and black cattle of the tribes which settled 
on the shores of the North Sea. The fixing of 
a strain of animals which shall reproduce faith- 
fully so peculiar a marking as exhibited by these 
cattle is one of the marvels of careful breeding 
and hereditary selection. 

There are not many representatives of the 
Dutch Belted breed in the United States. They 
are very docile and fairly hardy, and yield large 
quantities of fairly rich milk. They are about 
the same size as the Ayrshires, but much quieter 
animals. One of the best representatives of this 
breed yielded thirty-two quarts of milk a day for 
a week on grass alone. This cow was vigorous 
and productive until she was eighteen years of 
age. 

Kerry, or Irish, Cattle 

This breed and a smaller breed called the 
Dexter Kerries are the only breed of any promi- 
nence which are natives of Ireland. These 
cattle are growing in favor in England, but 
they are very little known in the United States. 
The Kerries form as nearly as possible an aborig- 



THE COW 



125 



inal breed ; that is to say, their ancestry can 
be traced back almost continuously to the original 
wild forest stock. The animals are dark in color, 
nearly always black. The cows give a fair 




DEXTER KERRY VOW. 



amount of milk of good quality, and they can 
be easily fattened for beef, although they are 
rather small for American markets. The ma- 
ture bulls weigh from 800 to 1100 pounds and 
the cows from 600 to 800 pounds. It is said 
that what is lackim>: in size is more than made 
up in the excellent quality of the meat. 



126 A COUNTRY READER 

The Kerry cattle are noted principally for 
their hardy nature. They come from the comity 
of Kerry, in western Ireland, the most mountain- 
ous district of that country. They will live and 
do well in poor districts where the more delicate 
milk breeds would starve. 

The Dexter Kerry cows are the smallest type 
of milch cows in existence, and they produce, in 
proportion to their size and the quantity of food 
they eat, a really enormous quantity of milk. 

The breeders of this strain positively declare 
that their cows produce more milk in propor- 
tion to the food which they eat than any other 
breed in existence. They are especially fitted 
to be kept as family cows, being no larger than 
a large-sized donkey, and very hardy ; they will 
yield a good quantity of milk on very rough 
forage. They are very tame, and require very 
little space in which to keep them. 

Beef Breeds 

So far we have considered cattle especially bred 
and fed for the production of milk. Now, just 
as we have milk breeds, bred and maintained 
solely for their yield of milk, so we have breeds 
of cattle, bred especially for beef. In most 
cases the production of beef has been attained 
at the expense of milk production, so that, as a 
ride, the beef cattle are very inferior milkers. 



THE COW 127 

The development of cold-storage transportation . 
facilities has greatly changed the method of 
marketing beef. At one time the local demand 
for meat was supplied by neighboring farmers, 
sending their cattle into the home markets to be 
bought and slaughtered by the local butchers. 
The development of rapid transportation and 
refrigerator facilities has made it possible to 
assemble large numbers of animals in the great 
cities, Avhere the slaughtering and butchering is 
done on a large scale ; the slaughtered beef be- 
ing distributed to great distances in refrigerator 
railroad cars. Moreover, at these large slaughter- 
houses, all of the offal is utilized, being manu- 
factured into a number of useful products, such 
as tallow, lard, fertilizers, glue, etc. 

A few years ago practically all of the cattle 
shipped to the large slaughterhouses were what 
are known as "range cattle " ; that is, they were 
bred and grazed on large tracts of land. Little 
attention was paid to the careful breeding of the 
animals, and they became more or less wild in 
their habits. There are still great numbers of 
range cattle in our far western country, but there 
is a growing tendency toward grading up or 
hnproving the rougher strains by the introduc- 
tion of carefully bred stock. 

The appearance of the animals bred for beef 
production is very different from those which 



128 A COUNTRY READER 

have been bred for the production of large 
quantities of milk. The milk animal is, on the 
whole, usually thin, bony, with legs rather long. 
The beef animal, on the other hand, ^^is built" 
on square and stocky lines. The chief object in 
beef production is to rear an animal that will 
yield the greatest amount of tender, well- 
flavored meat on the smallest amount of food. 
The beef animal is, therefore, well-rounded, the 
bones well-covered, the neck and legs short ; 
in other words, the animal when dead should 
cut up into as little waste meat and bone as 
possible. 

The breeds which are used especially for beef 
production are the Herefords and Aberdeen- 
Angus. To these we might add the Texas, or 
range, cattle. 

The Hereford 

This breed takes its name from Herefordshire 
in England, where the strains existed from which 
the Hereford breed as we know it to-day was 
originated. The Herefords have the beef form 
to a marked degree. They are squarely put up, 
and are vigorous from birth. They grow very 
rapidly, come to maturity early, and fatten easily 
and quickly. The animals of this breed have 
proved themselves fitted to live and do well in 
various climatic conditions ; so that they have 



THE COW 129 

become favorite beef cattle in all parts of tbe 
world. 

The color of the present-day Hereford is 
usually red, and the breed is characterized by 
a white face and white under the body, with a 
white switch at the end of the tail, and w^hite 
feet. The white face is a distinct mark of the 
Hereford breed. The animals of this breed are 
large : mature bulls weigh from 1900 to 2300 
pounds, and cows from 1200 to 1600 pounds. 

Aberdeen"- Angus 

This breed has been known under the names 
of Polled Angus, Polled Aberdeen, and Scotch 
Polled. The breed is of Scotch origin, and is 
considered by many to be the highest type of 
beef breeds. The animals are large, but the 
meat is of excellent quality. In England the 
Scotch beef is in great favor, and brings a 
higher price than any other beef that enters the 
markets. It seems that the Scotch farmer, not 
having many populous centers to which he could 
send his milk, has devoted his attention to the 
production of a good beef animal, which can be 
transported long distances. Well has the Scotch- 
man succeeded, for no better beef animals are 
bred in the world than the Scotch Aberdeen- 
Angus cattle. 

The Aberdeen- Angus cattle are characterized 

K 



130 



A COUNTRY READER 



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THE COW 131 

by their shining black color, and they j^ossess no 
horns. From this they have gained the appelhi- 
tion "polled Scotch/' the word polled meaning 
without horns. They are large, fatten easily and 
rapidly, are vigorous and hardy, and have the 
special quality of shifting well for themselves. 
I They therefore make excellent range animals. 
Mature bulls weigh from 1800 to 2200 pounds, 
and cows from 1100 to 1500 pounds. 

Texas Cattle 

Over the plains of the great West there have 
roamed for many years herds of cattle which 
were practically wild. These cattle undoujjtedly 
originated from Spanish animals introduced into 
Mexico at the time of the Spanish Conquest. 
No attempt was made in former years to breed 
these cattle in order to produce the best results. 
It was far easier to allow them to roam at will 
and to allow them to breed naturally. Each 
year the owners of the herds branded the calves 
which were found with the cows bearing the 
owner's mark. This branding was done by 
burning the skin with an iron heated red hot. 
No other attention was given the cattle. They 
were allowed to roam over the vast unbroken 
plains, and thus to graze without restraint. At 
marketing time the cattle were '^ rounded up " 
by the '^ vaqueros," or '' cowboys," and driven to 



132 A COUNTRY READER 

market, where they were either slaughtered or 
transported by raih^oad to the large cities. 

Naturally, the animals produced under these 
haphazard conditions were greatly inferior to 
the types which w^ere bred with a definite ideal 
in view. The Texas cattle were therefore small, 
their weight ranging from 900 to 1200 pounds. 
They were somewhat gaunt and long-legged, 
and were characterized by exceedingly long 
horns, which in many cases measured four feet 
from tip to tip. 

General Purpose, or Dual Purpose, Breeds 

So far w^e have read of cattle suitable gener- 
ally for but one purpose, either milk or beef. It 
is of course desirable to have special purpose 
breeds where one is engaged in the ^^roduction of 
special products, be they milk, cheese, butter, or 
beef. But it is desirable for the general farmer 
to possess animals which may be used for all 
purposes, should occasion require it. We have 
seen that the milk cattle make poor beef cattle, 
and that the beef breeds are poor milkers. But 
there are some breeds which are useful for both 
purposes, and these have been designated as the 
General Purpose, or Dual Purpose, cattle. Under 
this heading we may include Shorthorns or Dur- 
hams. Polled Durhams, Devons, and Red Polled 
cattle. 



THE COW 133 

The Shorthorn 

The Shorthorn is a breed of cattle that 
combmes good milking powers and good beef- 
making qualities, that crosses j^rofitably with 
almost every other variety, — especially the 
Aberdeen- Angus, — and whose young become 
profitable at an early age. The Shorthorn lives 
and thrives on any class of land, except the 
very high ranges, and in ahnost every variety of 
climate found in the United States. 

If the farmer requires a plentiful supply of 
rich milk, the Shorthorn will supply that want. 
If the farmer requires to fatten and not to milk, 
the Shorthorn will do that. If he wishes a 
calf to be turned into veal at the earliest date, 
the calf of the Shorthorn will satisfy his need. 

In sunshine and rain, on heavy land and light 
land, whether to graze in the field or to be 
chained in the stall, the Shorthorn is equal to it 
all. Therefore these animals are more popular, 
and are more widely bred and kept in the United 
States than any other breed. 

The Shorthorn is level from the neck to the 
tail, — in some cases as level as a table, — deep 
from the hip to the udder, light in the fore- 
quarters, wide at the shoulder top. She treads 
along lightly and gracefully, carrying her well- 
bred head high and Avith pride. 



134 



A COUNTRY READER 



The Shorthorn has reached its present useful- 
ness through careful selection and preservation 
on the part of stock raisers. 

Remember, you can all do a great deal to 
improve the milking powers of your cows by 




PRIZE SHORTHORNS. 

(The Property of Lord Eothschild.) 



keeping and rearing only the calves of those 
mothers which have yielded you a plentiful 
supply of milk. 

This of course means keeping careful record 
of the amount of milk that each cow i^ives each 
day ; and this naturally means taking trouble. 
But nothing successful has ever been accom- 



THE COW 135 

plished, whether in the country or in the towns, 
without hard work and taking trouble. 

The Shorthorns have been the most famous 
breed of cattle both in the United States and 
in England. The importation of the Shorthorn 
into America was begun soon after the close 
of the Revolutionary War. Great attention has 
been given to the careful breeding of the Short- 
horn in America, and in consequence there are 
several American strains which have become 
famous the world over. In fact, at one time, 
British breeders acknowledged freely that there 
were Shorthorns in America which could not be 
equaled even in England. 

In size the Shorthorns are probably the largest 
of the pure breeds. Bulls ordinarily weigh a 
ton or more and sometimes weigh as high as 
3000 pounds. Mature cows weigh from 1200 
to 1600 pounds. The colors of the breed have 
always been red and white variously blended. 
In the best milking strains the cows are angular 
in outline. They are quiet and kind in disposi- 
tion. 

The Shorthorn milkers give a good supply of 
rich milk. Single cows have been known to 
give as high as 12,000 pounds of milk in a year. 
The average of the best milking strains is from 
6000 to 7000 pounds per year. The milk is of 
good quality ; the fat globules are not small, and 



136 A COUNTRY READER 

are uniform in size, so that the cream separates 
readily. The cream is pale in color. 

The Polled Durham 

The Polled Durhams are now considered a 
distinct breed, and as such are the only breed of 
cattle which has orighiated in America. The 
breed was developed in the Ohio and Mississippi 
valleys, wdthin thirty or forty years, and it is 
simply a hornless variety of Shorthorns. In 
every respect they conform to the Shorthorn 
type, with the exception of horns. They have 
the size and shape of the Shorthorn, and may be 
classed with that breed in being a valuable 
general, or dual purpose, animal, although the 
production of milk has nndonbtedly been of 
secondary consideration in their breeding. 

The Devon 

The farmers on the rich lands of North 
Devon, in the southwestern part of England, 
have produced a very pretty breed of rich red 
and well-shaped cattle. Their limbs are light 
and bodies rounded, the head is light and taper- 
ing towards the muzzle ; their horns have a 
beautiful curve and are of a creamy color. The 
hair is soft and fine, and often curls closely on 
the neck, shoulders, and face. There is no 
more perfect outline in cattle than a well-bred, 



THE COW 



137 




rinJu. Charles Ileid. 



RED POLLED CATTLE. 






i ,Vv/,v. tileries Heid. 



PEVON CATTLE. 



138 A COUNTRY READER 

fairly well-fattened Devon. Some of the Devon 
cows are good milkers, although the breed is 
considered more as a beef breed. The steers of 
this breed make excellent work oxen. 

As a rule, Devon cows are not large and per- 
sistent milkers. But that the breed has good 
milking qualities is shown by the fact that milk- 
ing strains have been developed which average 
from 40 to 50 pounds of milk per day. The 
milk is rich, and ranks second only to the Chan- 
nel Island breeds in butter fat and high color. 

Devon cattle thrive on very meager pasture, 
and have shown themselves easily adapted to 
various climatic conditions. They do equally 
well in the hilly sections of New England and 
on the poor pastures and pine lands of the 
South. 

Red Polled Cattle 

This is comparatively a new breed, as it is 
only within late years that it has been recognized 
as a distinct breed. Red Polled cattle resemble 
the Devons almost as closely as the Polled 
Durhams resemble the Shorthorns. It is not 
probable, however, that the Devons and Red 
Polled are closely related. As we have seen, the 
Devons come from the southwestern portion of 
England, while the Red Polled had their origin 
north of the Thames River in England, 



THE COW 139 

According to very early records, some of the 
progenitors of the Red Polled breed were superior 
milch cattle. Eight gallons of milk per day is 
mentioned as the average during a large part of 
the season. 

Some of these hornless cattle were brought to 
the early English colonies in America, and the 
so-called " muley " cows so often seen in many 
]3arts of the United States are, in all probability, 
descended from them. 

In general appearance the Red Polled cattle 
have more of the beef type than the dairy form. 
They seem better adapted for making meat than 
milk. Yet the development of milking parts — 
large udder, prominent milk veins — has been bet- 
ter maintained in this breed than in the Devons. 

Red is the required color, only a white tip to 
the switch of the tail and sometimes a small 
white spot on the front part of the udder being 
allowable in pure-bred animals. 

The milk of the Red Polled cattle is not so 
rich as the Devon milk, but it is produced in 
rather larger quantity. Good herds average 
from 5000 to 5500 pounds of milk per cow dur- 
ing the year. 

How TO TREAT A CoW 

The cow herself (and this is most essential) 
must be kept healthy and free from disease. 



140 A COUNTRY READER 

She must be treated with the greatest kindness 
and consideration. 

Many a cow has been mined as a milker 
because she has been roughly handled while 
milking, or been milked by one without ex- 
perience, or by one whose hands are rough and 
hard, and who has not that delicacy of touch 
that tempts a cow to give, with pleasure and 
ease, all the milk that she has made. 

The cow house must be warm, well-ventilated 
and lighted, and free from draughts; it must be 
well-drained and built on a dry foundation, and 
must be situated so as to catch as much of the 
winter sun as possible. When she is fastened 
up, each cow must have plenty of room to move 
and lie down. 

There is a terrible disease that it is feared 
is very prevalent amongst the milking cows 
throughout this country — a disease called tuber- 
culosis, which corresponds to consumption in the 
human being. Undoubtedly, this disease has 
been caused in the past, and is being caused in 
the present, by not observing the great health 
principle of sufficient light and ventilation, 
sensible drainage, absence of draughts, and a 
wise and exj^erienced method of feeding. 

As with us, so with a cow, when ^ter strength 
and health are feeble she is liable to take any 
disease there may be about ; whereas, if her 



THE COW 1^1 

strength and health be vigorous, she is much less 
liable to contract disease. In other and more 
accurate ^vords, the disease germs have a much 
better chance of settling and beginning their 
work of ill-health and destruction in a cow low 
in condition, than would be the case in a cow 
that is vigorous and in good health. 

It is necessary to repeat, because it is so im- 
portant, that if you wish your cows to be healthy, 
and therefore to be profitable, cleanliness, light, 
ventilation, freedom from draughts, sensible 
feeding, suitable sites for the cow house, are 
necessities. 

At the present time, to keep your live things 
in poor condition, or to starve your crops, is the 
most foolish thing that you can do, because sooner 
or later, and generally sooner, it means failure 

and ruin. 

Of course, any good farmer who knows his 
business will take every opportunity of turning 
his cows out in the fields during the winter for 
as long a time as the weather will permit. 

It is not o;enerally done, but it adds consider- 
ably to the health of a cow, and therefore to her 
supply of milk, if every day during the winter, 
when she is in the stable, she is cnrry-combed or 
brushed over with a rough brush so that her 
body may be kept clean. 



CHAPTER y 

THE SHEEP 

Wild Sheep 

It is impossible to name, with certainty, the 
native country of the wild sheep from which our 
domesticated sheep have descended. Sheep are 
mentioned in the Bible as the servants of man- 
kind, and this gives proof that before the time 
of which we have the earliest historical record, 
the sheep was a domesticated animal. The good 
shepherd, who tended his flocks and saw that 
the helpless lambs were sheltered during stormy 
weather, even at the risk of his own life, is a 
lesson to us all. It is said that sheep were first 
domesticated for the sake of their milk and skins. 
Primitive man's clothing in cold climates con- 
sisted often of the sheep's skin, which was worn 
as a protection for the body. 

Although we cannot be sure of the line of 
descent of our domestic sheep, nevertheless we 
find in them traits similar to the wild traits 
which travelers tell us can be observed to-day 
in the wild sheep inhabiting different coun- 
tries of the world. 

142 



THE SHEEP 



143 



The wild sheep of to-day live on high, moun- 
tainous places, constantly covered with snow. 




KLACK-FACED MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 



On the slopes and terraces of these cold heights 
thev take refiisre when dang:er is near, and live 
on the scanty herbage which they find there. 

The ancestors of our domesticated sheep devel- 
oped their covering of wool, muscles of leg, and 
power of neck and head, in order that they might 
live with the Q:reatest advantag^e amidst their 
wild, cold, mountainous surroundings. 

Generally speaking, they inhabited open moun- 



144 A COUNTRY READER 

tainoiis districts rather than the very craggy 
regions occupied by the wild goat. 

EocKY Mountain Sheep 

The " Bighorn," or Eocky Mountain sheep, 
is the wild sheep of North America. It derives 
its name from the great curled and crumpled 
horns which adorn its head. It inhabits the 
high, rough, and cold altitudes of the Rocky 
Mountains, and, consequently, it is seldom seen 
by travelers. The Bighorn is very shy, and at 
the least simi of dano^er is off amons^ the rocks 

CD CD O 

and crags of the mountains. 

The coat of this beautiful specimen of wild 
life is composed of thick hair, like the coat of a 
deer or of a goat. It is coarse to the touch, but 
comfortably soft and spongy, and is an excellent 
covering to keep out the cold and the w^et. The 
w^ool is rather sparse, white, and very soft ; 
it grows beneath tlie hair, out of sight, and 
chiefly around the shoulders. As one Avriter 
w^ell expresses it : " The w^ool grows in beautiful 
spirals out of sight among the shining hairs, like 
delicate climbing vines amidst stalks of corn." 

The cousins of the sheep — the antelope and 
deer — had a good chance of escaping from their 
flesh-eating enemies by their extraordinary swdft- 
ness of foot ; but the sheep, not having this 
power so highly developed, had to adopt some 



THE SHEEP 



145 



W'^jSrSfit.f^ - 





EOCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 



146 ' A COUNTRY READER 

other means of saving themselves from extmc- 
tion, and so they took to the snow-covered 
mountam sides as a refuge. 

The feet of the wild sheep are wonderfully 
adapted for their life among the high mountains. 
They are so cushioned and shaped that they can 
cling to the smallest ledge and the sharpest pro- 
jection, while at the same time their shape 
enables them to fit into the crevices of the rocks 
over which the animals must travel. 

Travelers tell us that it is a grand sight to see 
a flock of these wild sheep, some as large as. 
donkeys, with their enormous wrinkled horns, 
moving with wonderful grace and agility amongst 
the crags on the mountains, or resting on the 
mountain summits, sonietimes at a height of 
more than 12,000 feet. 

The experience of the past has made the 
wild sheep of to-day very w^ise. When they rest 
they select for w^armth a position that catches 
the sun and a spot that gives their sentinel a 
wide lookout, so that he can easily see the 
approach of their special enemies, — the wolves. 
Often they place themselves so that the scent of 
an enemy will be borne to them on the wind, 
whichever way it approaches. 

If any danger is approaching, the alarm signal 
is given, and the scattered flock gathers together 
in a body to obey the instinctive sheep law of 



THE SHEEP 147 

'^ Follow the leader" — a law that the experience 
of ages has taught the sheep is best for their 
escape and safety. 

These wild sheep have no great open plains 
over which to gallop away, where it does not 
so much matter if they are in a compact 
body, directly following their leader, or not. 
But they have to escape mostly along narrow 
ledges cut in mountain sides, and so their wisest 
plan is to collect together in a dense long body 
and to follow faithfully their leader. 

In that rushing, headlong flight, with a pack 
of hungry enemies at their heels, the flock are 
compelled to follow every movement of their 
leader, whether that movement is in direction, 
speed, or leap. 

While scurrying up and down these steep 
places, broken here and there with yawning 
chasms and deep ravines, the individual shee23 
has no time to look and judge for itself. 

In the most perfect imitation of their leader 
lies their safety, and woe betide that flock whose 
leader wavered and faltered, whose judgment 
was at fault, or whose nerve and speed were 
not at their best. 

Wild Habits still Linger 

If we notice carefully our domesticated sheep, 
we may observe that they retain many interesting 



148 A COUNTRY READER 

habits that were ■Qseful to their wild ances- 
tors, but which of course are not necessary now. 

It is by observing the natural ways and habits 
of the young of animals that we are able to 
decide, with great certainty, what were the ways 
and habits of their remote ancestors. 

Let us now consider some of these curious 
habits which all of our readers must have 
noticed. 

Lambs when at play select the steepest part of 
a field, and, if there is a rock or log lying about, 
they will skip on to it and butt at one another 
from it. 

The shepherds of the Southdown sheep tell 
us that if any of their flock, during the night, 
break from their fold, most of them are to be 
found on the highest ground of the neighbor- 
hood. 

Lambs have long legs, and when a few days 
old are capable of keeping up witli the flock. 
If this had not been so, the beasts of prey would 
soon have made an end of the race of sheep. 

If a flock of sheep, scattered over* a field graz- 
ing, become alarmed, or if the sheep dog be sent 
amongst them, they will immediately collect in 
a body and follow the leader. 

If one sheep of a flock gets through a partially 
open gate, all the rest will blindly follow the 
lead. And it will be found a very difficult job 



THE SHEEP 149 

to stem the rush. Many a shepherd's boy has 
found this out to his sorrow. The flock will 
throw him oE his feet and rush over him before 
he will be able to stop them. 

If a sheep jumps down from a height, say 
down a sunken fence, and the others are alarmed, 
the whole flock will collect and jump down from 
almost the same spot, even at the risk of break- 
ing their slender legs. 

If a doer enters a field where there are ewes 
and lambs, he will often be attacked by the ewes 
if he ventures too near. This is probably a relic 
of the old wild instinct, when the horned flocks 
on the mountain side defended themselves against 
jackals and wolves. 

An angry ewe will often stamp her feet when 
a dog comes in sight. This is probably the 
relic of a danger signal that the wild look-out 
sheep gave to the flock it was guarding. 

It also may be a signal that the animal intends 
to fight; like a man, before he begins to fight, 
turning up his shirt sleeves, or waving his 
clenched fists about in the air. 

Animals closely related to the sheep will use 
their sharp hoofs with deadly effect. 

For instance, deer will destroy snakes by 
jumping on their bodies, and with a quick 
outward movement of their feet will tear them 
to ribbons. 



150 A COUNTRY READER 

Travelers tell us that antelopes use tliis 
method of attack, and hunters have been killed 
in this way by the big antelopes that live in the 
Himalaya Mountains in India. 

For purposes of defense, sheep in the wild state 
developed great strength of neck and the hardest 
of hard heads. Even very young lambs often 
butt each other's head with very considerable 
force. 

And if two powerful rams get together, they 
will charge blindly at one another, at several 
yards' distance. Down will go their heads, the 
butting of their two skulls sounding like a clap 
of thunder. The recoil will drive them back- 
wards, but up they will get and attack each other 
ao-ain till one is the victor, or the neck of one is 
broken. 

The Sheep of the Farm 

It is said that sheep were first domesticated 
for the use of their milk, and when the wool had 
developed by domestication and selection at the 
expense of the goat-like hair, the skin v/as used 
for clothing. But it is a long step from the 
time when sheeps' skins were worn as clothing, 
to the time when the sheeps' wool alone was 
dyed, spun into yarn, and manufactured into 
cloth of many colors and patterns. In ancient 
times, when the whole skin was worn, it did 



THE SHEEP 151 

> 

not matter much if there were some coarser hair 
mixed with the avooL But nowadays our woolen 
manufacturers will not accept a wool which is 
at all mixed with hair. 

The hairy portion has been gradually bred out 
of the wild sheep's wool. At first there was 
only a very small portion of fine wool, growing 
about the neck of the wild sheep. With this 
as a foundation the yield of wool has been 
gradually increased and the coarse hair has 
been gradually reduced, until to-day we have 
sheep whose entire coat is composed of fine 
wool, suitable for spinning and weaving. But it 
has taken a great deal of careful breeding and 
selecting, and it required long periods of time 
to effect this very useful result. 

The breeding of sheep for mutton is compara- 
tively a recent development. One and a half 
centuries ago an Englishman named Robert Bake- 
well began the first systematic breeding of sheep 
to improve their qualities for food purposes. 

It must not be forgotten that good animals 
for any particular purpose never come by chance. 
They are the results either of systematic breed- 
ing on the part of some careful man, or they are 
the results of certain conditions of environment 
or food, or both. Whenever, then, any of our 
readers see a good animal filling some particular 
place in man's service, they may be sure that 



152 A COUNTRY READER 

animal is the result of much painstaking and care-' 
ful thought. Thousands of animals have had to 
be rejected before the type which that animal 
represents was developed and fixed. 

Man, by his systematic observation, selection, 
and preservation can accomplish a great deal. 
He can '' twist and turn " the line of descent in 
almost any direction he may wish. He can de- 
velop some slight trait wdiich he observes in an 
animal, nntil in the course of generations it 
becomes dominant and fixed. But the trait, no 
matter how slight or undeveloped it may be, must 
be present. The characteristics may be very slight 
indeed ; as, for example, the fine wool must have 
originally existed on the wild sheep. Without 
it man could never have succeeded in developing 
the wool sheep of the present day. We might 
as w^ell expect the potter to shape a figure with- 
out clay, — out of nothing, — as to expect man 
to develop a character, the rudiments of which 
were not originally present. 

From what has been said, it will be seen that 
nowadays sheep are bred for two purposes, — for 
wool and for mutton. Most of the sheep kept 
in the United States up to a few years ago were 
for the production of wool, but during the past 
few years the demand for mutton sheep has 
been steadily increasing in the United States. 
It is said this may be due, partly, to the low 



THE SHEEP 153 

prices which have prevailed for wool, thus 
inducing many sheep owners to market their ani- 
mals for mutton. There has been a great dimi- 
nution of the number of sheep in the United 
States, undoubtedly due to the low price of 
wool . 

The production of prime mutton for both 
European and American markets is fast becom- 
ing a vast industry in the United States. There 
is abundant opportunity in this country for 
the expansion of the industry. There is a great 
deal of rich land and abundant and rich food fur 
sheep. Then, too, there is no reason why the 
mutton sheep should not be so selected and bred 
that he will yield wool as well as mutton. 

It has been a common but erroneous notion 
that sheep are suited for, and can therefore be 
profitably kept only on, cheap, and consequently 
inferior land. It is true they can live on lands 
where the vegetation is scanty, but they wall 
yield a larger profit if fed and housed wdtli care, 
and kept on higher-priced lands. In England 
on strictly sheep farms 680 sheep are sustained 
per 1000 acres ; in Scotland the number runs as 
high as 1380 per 1000 acres. In the United 
States, the leading agricultural states have not 
exceeded 25 sheep per 1000 acres. 

It would pay far better to feed the sheep with 
much of the grain we grow, than to export this 



154 A COUNTRY READER 

grain and feed the sheep solely on poor pastures. 
In our corn-pro ducmg states, for example, a great 
deal more feed in the shape of corn and oats is 
produced than is needed at home. Hence a large 
proportion of the crop has to be marketed abroad. 
The cash returns to the farmer are not always 
profitable. But by feeding some of the surplus 
to sheep, a larger profit would be obtained by 
the farmer. The price paid for corn and oats 
in the shape of good mutton is much higher 
than for the same quantities of those feeds mar- 
keted in the raw state. Then, too, the sale of 
$1000 worth of corn takes from the soil about 
$300 worth of its fertility. Market the same 
amount of corn in the shape of mutton, and only 
$50 worth of fertility is removed. If the wool 
only is marketed, about $2 or $3 worth of fertil- 
ity is removed. These figures, of course, prevail 
only where the manure produced by the sheep 
goes back to the land. 

With mutton as the primary object, the sheep 
industry of the United States has been placed 
on a more permanent and lasting basis. The 
production of mutton pays independently of 
the wool produced, so that whatever price is ob- 
tained for the fleece is clear gain. The wool 
will always have some value. The demand 
for good mutton, as we have seen, is steadily 
increasing. 



the sheep 155 

The Sheep of the Range 

In the eastern and middle western jDarts of the 
United States sheep are kept on a farm basis. 
That is to say, the animals are fed, are housed, 
and in every way are given the close care which 
is expended on farm animals. In the far West- 
ern States sheep are seldom kept as farm animals. 
They are in those sections of our country kept as 
range animals ; which means that they are kept 
in herds, often of many thousands, and are 
driven over the ranges, to feed on tlie natural 
herbage. There is, in this case, no attempt at 
feeding for any special purjDOse or with any par- 
ticular ideal in view. 

The ranges over wdiich the sheep are driven 
and allowed to feed may be private land, either 
leased or owned by the flock owner. These 
lands are usually of low grade, not fit for 
agricultural purposes, or the stubble-fields after 
the grain has been harvested. 

In the far Western States, where sheep herding 
is practiced on such a large scale, grain farming 
is also conducted on a g;io;antic scale. One 
farmer may farm thousands of acres. This ex- 
tensive farming has made it necessary to perform 
the work of harvesting^ and threshins^ the oTain 
as quickly and as cheaply as possible. To ac- 
complish this, enormous machines are in use, 



156 A COUNTRY READER 

which are drawn by as many as twenty-eight or 
thirty-two mules or horses, and which cut, thresh, 
and clean the grain at one operation. These 
machines are called " harvesters." Naturally, 
in doing the work on such a great scale, there 
is a great deal of grain w^hich, in addition to the 
chaff and straw, is left on the land. The harvest 
stubble-fields, therefore, form good grazing, or 
dry pasture lands, for the sheep, hogs, or even 
cattle. 

But often the sheep are driven over govern- 
ment lands. Where this plan is pursued, the 
flocks are kept in the valley during the winter. 
As spring comes on they are driven toward and 
into the mountains, going higher as the season 
advances and feeding as they go. In this way 
a great deal of feeding or pasturage is obtained 
free, as it has been the custom to drive the sheep 
on the government lands without asking leave 
of anybody. Even the great mountain forests 
have been and are still used to a great extent. 
In the early days, w^hen there were few settlers 
in the Far West, no one disputed the right of 
the flock owners to use the public lands in this 
way. But with the rapid advance of settle- 
ment, and the "taking up" of the public lands, 
the problems relating to the riglits of individuals 
to use unoccupied lands are puzzling the authori- 
ties. 



THE SHEEP 157 

There is another and more serious problem 
connected with sheep grazing on our mountain 
sides and upon our plains. As is well known, 
the sheep is a close feeder ; he will eat almost 
everything in the way of vegetation, be it grass, 
herbage, young shrubs, or young trees. Natu- 
rally then, after a large flock of sheep have 
been driven over a stretch of country, they leave 
little or nothing in the way of vegetation behind 
them. What is not eaten is trampled down. 
In this way the useful herbage of large stretches 
of country has been destroyed, leaving objection- 
able weeds and undesirable plants to take its 
place. 

On the mountain sides and in the forests the 
effect has been worse. Where the natural vege- 
tation covering the mountain sides is destroyed, 
there is nothing to bind and hold the loose soil. 
Hence the heavy rains and melting snows wash 
away the soil and carry it into the rivers, thus 
filling up their channels and causing them to 
be too small to hold the volume of water com- 
ing down. The effect is inevitable. If the 
volume of water is too great to be confined 
within the river beds, it overflows the banks 
and floods the surrounding country, often with 
great loss of life and property. 

In the early days, before it became necessary 
to util'ze the timber of the forests on our 



158 . A COUNTRY READER 

mountains, the grazing of sheep over the lands 
had httle or no ill effects. The trees could not be 
harmed by the sheep, as they ate only the under- 
growth. Where the grazing was excessive, the 
tramping of the sheep packed and hardened the 
soil to a harmful degree. 

When, however, it became necessary to put 
the trees of the forest to economic use, the graz- 
ing of sheep on the cut-over lands became very 
harmful. As the sheep fed closely and ate 
practically everything in their path, they de- 
stroyed shrubs and young trees alike, and conse- 
quently no new forest growth could survive to 
take the place of the old trees which had been 
cut down. 

After forest fires an undergrowth springs up, 
which makes a good feed for sheep. Certain 
unprincipled flock owners, discovering this fact, 
wantonly set fire to the forest lands in order 
to improve the pasturage for the following 
spring. 

In justice to the flock owners and shepherds, it 
should be said that they were not alone guilty 
of this pernicious practice. The owners of vast 
herds of range cattle were also in the habit of 
driving their stock upon the unoccupied lands 
for free grazing. They too found how the burn- 
ing process improved the feed, and they too 
resorted to it. 



THE SHEEP 159 

Tlie effect was tlie same : the forests were de- 
stroyed and all the consequent evils followed. 
The mountain rains and melting snows cut away 
the soil and filled the rivers, causing floods. 
More than this, it is a well-known fact that 
tree growth and plant growth hold the water 
which falls as snow and rain, allowing it to 
enter the soil, to reappear again as springs and 
smaller streams below, and thus to flow off 
slowly and continuously throughout the season, 
instead of washing rapidly down the mountain 
sides, carrying soil and all with it. Without 
plant growth to retard them, the waters come 
rapidly and in immense volumes, overflowing our 
rivers and causing great floods. We have there- 
fore a great flow for a short time, followed by a 
short supply later in the season. 

In countries where there is little or no 
summer rain, irrigation has to be practiced 
to produce crops. Hence a continuous flow 
of water throughout the year is all-important. 
We have seen that the preservation of the forest 
growth on the mountain sides is necessary if a 
continuous flow of water is to be maintained. 
Hence the destruction of the forests by shep- 
herds, cattle herders, or any other ruthless 
person destroys also the industries of the coun- 
tries dependent upon the maintenance of a con- 
tinuous water-supply. 



160 A COUNTRY READER 

Fortunately, the government authorities have 
realized the danger, and the evils of forest de- 
struction are everywhere being studied, in order 
to find methods for their prevention. '^ Forest 
Reserves" have been created, in which no 
grazing is allowed except by special permit and 
limiting the number of animals which can graze 
without detriment to the forests. Our readers 
will see from this description how even so small 
an animal as a sheep may be the means of caus- 
ing ruin and desolation to many farmers and 
settlers, if not managed with judgment and 
consideration of the rights of others. 

The sheep maintained in vast flocks are kept 
primarily for wool. Some mutton sheep are 
produced, but they are not the primary object 
of the flock. There is also little or no attention 
paid to the breed. There is in a way a sort of 
natural selection or natural preservation. The 
sheep which cannot stand the hard, long drives 
and often the scant winter-supply of food perish, 
and thus only the hardiest ones survive and 
produce young. 

The opportunities for a profitable carrying on 
of sheep raising on this large haphazard scale are 
growing less and less. The same may be said of 
extensive range cattle raising and all other farm- 
ing on a very large scale. The area of unoccu- 
pied land is growing smaller and smaller j thus 



THE SHEEP 161 

the chances for free grazmg are growing less. In 
addition, the carefnl breeding and feeding for 
mntton and for wool are becoming better under- 
stood. Thns we may reasonably expect, in the 
not far distant future, to see the replacing of the 
range system, to a great extent, by the farm- 
rearing and keeping of sheep. 

About Wool 

The sheep breeders of Saxony examine the 
wool of their slieep under a microscope, and only 
breed from those sheep whose w^ool is found to 
be the softest and most abundant. By this care- 
ful and scientific method the Saxon breeders 
have been rewarded by a breed of sheep yielding 
an abundant supply of the softest and most 
beautiful wool. 

Sheep do not shed their coats at certain periods 
of the year like many other animals. The flock 
masters, however, tell us that at certain times of 
the year the wool or fleece lifts, or ^' is up," which 
means that a certain division between the wool 
and the skin takes place; then it is that the 
shears run easily and the labor of shearing is 
much lessened. 

The lifting of the fleece is really caused 
by the fibers of the newest growth erecting 
themselves, and therefore slightly lifting the 
matted fleece. 



M 



162 



A COUNTRY READER 



If sheep are not well and wisely fed, the best 
wool will run back in quality, and therefore will 
not sell for the best price. 

Our bodies are kept warm because our clothes 
prevent the warmth that is made inside our bodies 
from escaping into the air. 

Wool is fine and open, and therefore holds a 
great deal of air amidst its fibers. It is this air, 





WOOL FIBER (magnitied). 



practically, that prevents the heat of the body 
escaping, and so keeps the animal warm. Wool, 
therefore, is said to be a poor conductor of heat. 

You all know that the wool of a sheep's back 
is manufactured into the woolen clothes which 
we wear. 

There is somethino; in the nature of the wool 
itself that helps the manufacturers to do this. 
Let us see what it is. 

If you examine a fiber of wool under a mag- 
nifying glass, you will see that it is made up of 



THE SHEEP 163 

sections or parts, and you will also find on these 
fibers little joints or scales. So that when sev- 
eral of the fibers are pressed together these 
little joints or scales catch one another and so 
hold the fibers together — the wool, as we say, 
^^ felts " well. Here you have the principle of 
makin<>: woolen clothes. 

Here is another interesting fact : From the 
skin of a sheep there comes a soapy substance 
called "yolk," which covers the under-wool and 
helps the animal to shed the rain. Tliis keeps 
the body dry and prevents the wool on a sheep's 
back from felting. When the fleece is washed 
this yolk is washed out and the fleece becomes 
much lighter. 

Notwithstanding this wise provision of nature, 
sheep cannot stand constant wet, either overhead 
or under foot, l^ut they thrive best in cold, dry 
weather, on dry, well-drained soil. 

When wool is taken to market, it will bring 
a better price if it is clean and put together 
in an attractive manner. It often happens that 
a good product brings a low price simply because 
of the untidy and slovenly way in which it 
is sent to market. This is true, not only of 
wool, but of all agricultural products. Those 
products which go to market with a neat, at- 
tractive appearance will almost always find a 
ready sale. 



164 A COUNTRY READER 



Breeds of Sheep 



As has been said, there is no attempt to breed 
the range sheep of the Far West with any definite 
ideal in view. On the otlier hand, the sheep 
which are kept as farm animals are carefully 
bred and fed, and only those animals which 
approach the ideal of the breeder are preserved 
and bred from. 

The breeds of sheep may be divided, for con- 
venience of description, into three classes: short- 
wooled, middle-wooled, and loiig-wooled. In the 
first class are included the different varieties of 
Merinos, the Horned Dorsets, and the Cheviots. 
The second class includes the Southdowns, Shrop- 
sliires, Hampshires, and Oxfordshires. In the 
third class are the Cotswolds, the Leicesters, and 
the Lincolns. 

The Merinos 

This is the breed of sheep which enabled 
Spain at one time to control the wool markets 
of the world. Merinos existed as a distinct race 
of sheep two thousand years ago. Just where 
the breed originated it is impossible to say with 
certainty. We may be sure, however, that the 
Merino is the oldest breed of sheep in existence, 
and all indications point to Italian and African 
animals as their ancestors. 



THE SHEEP 



165 



On account of the far-famed excellence of 
their wool, Merino sheep were sent to almost 
every country of the world, including America. 
The first importation into our country dates 
back to 1791, but it was not until 1802 that 







..#n«v A. 



MERINO SHEEP. 



an importation of importance was made by 
Colonel David Humphreys, then Minister to 
Spain. From this flock, together with a second 
importation made in 1809-1810 by Colonel 
Jarvis, the several types of American Merino 
sheep have been developed. 

These American strains of Merinos have arisen 
from the fact that the original flocks were di- 



166 A COUNTRY READER 

vided and sent to different parts of the United 
States. The various conditions, chmatic and 
otherwise, which prevailed in the different por- 
tions of the United States had the effect of 
bringing about diff'erences in the characteristics 
of the representatives of the breed. The dif- 
ferent breeders who reared the sheep in several 
portions of our country undoubtedly had different 
ideals. Thus it was that the principal American 
strains of Merinos, known as the Atwoods, Dick- 
insons, Black-Tops, Delaines, and Paulars, came 
into existence in the United States. The ani- 
mals of these several families differ very much 
in appearance. 

The Merino sheep weigh when mature from 
100 to 125 or 130 pounds. They vary in color 
or rather in shades of color. They are woolly 
almost down to the tips of their noses and down 
to their hoofs. The ewes are hornless, but the 
rams have w^ell-developed, light-colored horns. 
Another original characteristic of the Merino was 
a very much wrinkled skin, which gave the sheep 
the appearance of being fitted with a coat very 
much too large for it, and which in consequence 
hung in long folds and wrinkles. This wrinkled 
skin has, however, been wholly bred out in the 
Dickinson, Black-Top, and Delaine families, so 
that the animals of these strains present a 
smooth appearance. 



the sheep 167 

Horned Dorsets 

This breed takes its name from the shire of 
Dorset in England, where these sheep have ex- 
isted for a considerable time. The breed is fur- 
ther desiy;nated as " horned " on account of the 
fact that both rams and ewes have well-devel- 
oped horns. The old Dorsets resembled the old 
Spanish Merinos, so it was at one time thought 
that they originated from the Merino. The re- 
semblance, however, was only in form. The 
characteristics of the two breeds are wholly 
different. 

In the first place the Dorsets are very differ- 
ent in their appearance. While the Merinos 
are woolly almost to the tips of their noses and 
toes, the Dorsets have smooth faces and legs. 
There is a tuft of wool on top of the head, and 
on the legs there is no wool below the knees. 
The faces and legs are white. Both ewes and 
rams have horns. The fleece is rather short and 
not so fine as the Merino. In high-class flocks, 
the average clip is from 6 to 8 pormds of 
wool. 

The special characteristics of the Dorsets are 
their early maturity and fattening qualities. 

The Dorsets are not as well known in the 
United States as some of the other breeds of 
sheep. 



168 a country reader 

Cheviots 

The Cheviot sheep take their name from the 
Cheviot Hills or Mountains, situated in the 
north of England and extending into Scotland, 
where the breed originated. How it originated 
or where it came from nobody seems to know. 
There is a tradition that the j^rogenitors of the 
Cheviots escaped from the wreck of the Spanish 
Armada by swimming ashore, but there is noth- 
ing to prove this. 

The Cheviots were first brought to America in 
1840, but they have not been distributed over 
our country to any great extent. The largest 
flocks are in New York and Indiana. 

The Cheviots have smooth faces and legs, 
which are mostly white, and they possess no 
horns. 

The fleece is short and the wool of only me- 
dium fineness. Scotch tweeds and cheviot cloths 
are manufactured from their wool. 

As the fleece is short, and the wool compara- 
tively coarse, and as the average weight of fleece 
of high-class animals is only from 3 to 5 pounds, 
the Cheviots are not rated as a high-class wool 
breed. But the mutton is of a superior quality. 
These animals are well adapted for use in the 
mountainous res^ions of the West. Thev fatten 
well on root crops, after feeding on pasture. 



THE SHEEP 



169 



SOUTHDOWNS 

This breed takes its name from the grassy 
slopes of the chalk hills which are situated 
in southern England, and which are known 
as '' Downs." In contact with the range of 
low, chalky hills is a stretch of low cultivated 




PhMo. Churles Keid. 



SOUTHDOWN SHEEP. 



land, which yields a large amount of low, short 
herbage, very well adapted for sheep feeding. 
And sheep in immense numbers have been main- 
tained on these lands for long periods. The 
elevated land and mild climate of the region, 
together with the rich herbage produced on the 



170 A COUNTRY READER 

cultivated lands, give a combination of favorable 
circumstances which render possible the keep- 
ing of sheep in large numbers, and at the same 
time have afforded the breeders the opportunity 
of using artificial or cultivated feeding in the 
improvement of their flocks. 

Although the original Southdowns were not 
superior to other sheep of the same locality, the 
combination of favorable climate and soil, together 
with careful selection and feeding, has produced 
a breed of sheep most esteemed in the countries 
suited to them. 

The mutton of the Southdown sheep is of 
the finest quality, the sheep are hardy and 
easily kept and fattened, and in addition the 
wool is of good average quality. This combina- 
tion of qualities makes the Southdown a good 
general purpose sheep, especially so where mut- 
ton is the primary object, with the production 
of wool as a secondary consideration. 

Next to the Merino, the Southdown is the 
most widely and favorably known sheep in 
the United States. In the Western and Middle 
States the breed finds its greatest popularity. 

The Southdowns have smooth faces and legs, 
with tufts of wool on the forehead and cheeks. 
The color of the smooth face and legs is a uni- 
form tint of brown, gray, or mouse-color. The 
Southdown is a hornless breed. The fleece is 



THE SHEEP 



171 



white, compact, and close, with a rather short 
and curhng staple. The average clip of good 
flocks is from 3 to 4 pounds, and in high-class 
flocks from 6 to 7 pounds. 

Shropshires 

This breed of the middle-wooled class some- 
what resembles the Southdown, and like it has 




Photo. Charles Keid- 



SHROPSHIRE SHEEP. 



become a great favorite in the United States. 
Shropshires were first imported into America in 
1855. 

The Shropshires are larger than the South- 
downs, averaging from 175 to 225 pounds in 



172 A COUNTRY READER 

weight when fully mature. The wool is closer 
set, finer, and longer in the staple than is that 
of the Southdown. The head is well covered 
with wool down to a line below the eyes. The 
smooth portion of the face is dark gray or 
brown. The breed is without trace of horns. 
The legs are well covered with wool down 
to the knees. Below the knees they are 
smooth and very dark brown — almost black 
— in color. 

Shropshire sheep came to us from England, 
where they are in great favor. As mutton 
sheep they produce larger joints than the 
Sonthdowns, and the meat is nearly equal in 
quality. With good care they are marketable 
at from 11 to 14 months old. The yield of 
wool averages about 7 pounds per fleece in 
high-grade animals. 

In England, Shropshires are found to thrive 
under varied conditions of soil and climate. 

Hampshires 

This breed originated in the chalk hills of 
Hampshire, England, and it is said to be the 
result of the interbreeding of the old Wiltshire 
and native Hampshire sheep with the South- 
downs. Hampshires were imported into the 
United States prior to the Civil War. The 
largest flocks of Hampshires were kept in 



THE SHEEP 173 

the South ; but during the war they were prac- 
tically exterminated. Since the war, however, 
importations have been made, and it is claimed 
that they surpass even the Southdowns in the 
ease and rapidity with which they become 
acclimated to the peculiar conditions existing 
in our Southern States. 

The Hampshires are the largest of the so- 
called "Downs" breeds proper. They have the 
Downs characteristics : dark face and legs, and 
no horns. The head is large, with the wool not 
extending so far down as is the case with the 
Shropshires. There is also a decided appearance 
of a Roman nose in the Hampshires, and the 
color of the face and legs is very dark, nearly 
black. 

The wool is long:er than that of the South- 
downs, and coarser in texture ; but, considering 
the greater size, the Hampshires do not average 
as high in wool production as do the other 
Downs breeds. The average yield from high- 
class animals is from 5 to 7 pounds. 

The strong characteristic of the Hampshire 
breed is the rapidity with which the lambs come 
to marketable size, and in this respect the breed 
is probably without equal. The lambs frequently 
increase from 15 or 16 pounds at birth to 140 
or 150 pounds at 7 or 8 months old, a re:illy 
remarkable showing. 



174 



A COUNTRY READER 



OXFORDSHIRES 

Tliis breed really stands between the "Downs," 
or middlewools, on the one hand and the long- 
wools on the other, althongh it is usually classed 
among the middlewools. It takes its name 




OXFORDSHIRE SHEEP. 



from the shire of Oxford in England, where 
the best flocks were reared. The breed origi- 
nated about 1830 by crossing the improved 
Cotswold with the Hampshire, and also mixing 
the cross with the Southdown to at least a small 
extent. The wool is more like the Cotswold in 
its combing quality, while the dark face and legs 
show the evidence of the Hampshire influence. 



THE SHEEP 17; 



t) 



The Oxfords have smooth faces and legs, which 
are dark brown or grayish in color. They have 
a tuft of wool on the forehead standing out well 
from the head ; otherwise the head and face are 
smooth. 

The wool averages about 5 to 7 inches in 
length and is not so long as the Cotswold, but 
with the same tendency to curl. It is finer 
and closer than the Cotswold wool, and stands 
out well from the body. The average yield of 
high-class flocks is about 7 pounds. 

The Oxfordshire is a good, dual purpose sheep. 
The body is well rounded, legs short, while the 
weight is good, and the yield of wool is satis- 
factory. Mature animals run from 200 to 275 
pounds in weight, but sometimes the latter 
figure is exceeded. 

Owing to the fact that the Oxfordshires' 
original -ho-me was at the base of the Cotswold 
Hills, where the land is damp and springy, they 
are better able to bear moist situations than any 
other breed of sheep. 

COTSWOLDS 

This is one of the very old breeds of sheep, 
and in consequence its characteristics are firmly 
fixed. The Cotswold is known to have existed 
in England during the thirteenth century, and 
how much earlier it is impossible to say. During 



176 



A COUNTRY HEADER 



the thirteenth century Cotsvvold wool was known 
and vahied in England, and even at that period 
had a place in the wool quotations. 

The breed was later improved by the introduc- 
tion of Leicester stock, which has given it finer 




COTSWOLD SHEEP. 



mutton qualities without injrring the hnrdy 
constitution of the old Cotswold stock. 

Cotswolds were probably first brought to 
America about the vear 1840, and since that 
time the breed has become widely and favorably 
known in our country as an excellent mutton 
and wool sheep. 

The color of the Cotswolds is white. The 
face and head are smooth, with the exception of 



THE SHEEP 177 

a long forelock of curling wool which hangs over 
the forehead. The smooth face and the legs 
below the knees are white or light grayish. 
The breed is hornless. The wool is very long, 
8 to 10 inches, pure white, and the fleece 
averages from 10 to 16 pounds in weight. 

The Cotswold ranks among the large breeds, 
ranging from 250 to 375 pounds in weight. In 
old sheep of this breed the mutton is coarse and 
not of high qnalit}- ; but when butchered nnder 
two years of age, the quality of the meat is fairly 
good. 

Leicesters 

The Leicesters take their name from Leices- 
tershire, England, where the great English 
breeder, Robert Bakewell, lived and originated 
the so-called New Leicester breed. 

The Leicesters were intended primarily for 
mutton ; wool, with Bakewell, was a secondary 
consideration. 

This breed was known in America prior to the 
Revolutionary War. Although Leicester sheep 
were at one time the prevailing breed in New 
York, they have never gained a foothold in the 
West or South. 

The face and legs are smooth and white. In 
some of the representatives of the breed the en- 
tire head is smooth, but as a rule there is a tuft 



N 



178 



A COUNTRY READER 



of wool on tlie forehead, which, however, is not 
as long or as large as the Cotswold's. The breed 
is hornless. 

Early maturity and easy fattening qualities 
are characteristics of the Leicesters. Mature 
rejDresentatives of the breed average from 190 
to 225 pounds in weight. 

The Leicester fleece is classed with the long 
or combing wools, averaging in length from 6 to 




BOEDER LEICESTEE SHEEP. 



10 inches, and high-class flocks yield, on an 
average, from 7 to 9 pounds of w^ool. 

The ewes cannot be accounted good mothers. 
The lambs are tender, and require extra care 



THE SHEEP 179 

in rearing them. Pure-bred Leicester sheep are, 
therefore, adapted to only comparatively few 
parts of our country. 

There is a variety of the Leicester breed 
in the south of Scotland and north of England, 
and which has been given the name " Border 
Leicester " on account of its being bred in the 
border counties. The main points of difference 
are the larger size, a more pronounced "Roman" 
nose, and a head whiter and clearer of wool ; all 
these differences may be attributed to the 
differences of climate and methods of hand- 
ling in the border counties. 

LiNCOLNS 

Lincoln sheep came to us from the lowlands 
of Lincolnshire and other eastern counties of 
Eno;land. The breed is a verv old one, and, like 
the Leicester, has been improved in modern 
times. The original Lincoln was a large, gaunt 
animal, which, requiring a large quantity of 
food, possessed poor fattening qualities. The 
improvement is said to have been brought about 
by the intermixture of Leicester blood. 

The color of the face and legs is white, and 
there is usually a conspicuous absence of wool on 
the forehead. The fleece is the longest of the 
longwools or combing-wool breeds, averaging 



180 



A COUNTRY KEADER 



from 9 to 12 inches in length of staple. These 
sheep are hornless. 

In size, the Lincolns may be classed among 
the largest of modern breeds. Mature ani- 




LINCOLN SHEEP. 



mals average from 225 to 250 pounds in 
weight, and there are records of animals fat- 
tened for exhibition purposes weighing 323 
pounds. 

The Lincoln requires rich food and plenty 
of it, but where suitable conditions abound, 
it is one of the most profitable sheep, both 
on account of its meat-producing qualities and 
on account of the weight and quality of its 
fleece. 



the sheep 181 

Care and Feeding of Sheep 

On account of the large area and varied con- 
ditions of the soil and chmate of our country, 
it is impossible to do more than to refer, in a 
veiy general way, to the care and feeding re- 
quired by sheep in America. Sheep are success- 
fully raised in all sections of our country : in 
the Eastern or Atlantic States, with their worn- 
out soils and severe winter climate ; in the 
great Middle West or Plains region of the valley 
of the Mississippi River, where the fertile soils 
produce enormous crops of the most excellent 
forage plants ; in the Southern or Gulf States, 
with their hot, humid summers and mild winters, 
where cotton-seed refuse forms a large portion of 
food for live stock of all kinds ; in the Far West, 
where almost all conditions of soil and climate 
prevail, including arid plains as well as high 
mountains, but where almost without exce23tion, 
alfalfa is available either as hay or pasturage. 
It is in this last-named reorion where free ran tying: 

O (Do 

is practiced on so large a scale. 

The foods obtainable and the methods of 
treatment must naturally be very different over 
so wide a stretch of country. 

The sheep industry has changed in the United 
States during the past few years. At one time 
millions of sheep were kept and ranged in the 



182 A COUNTRY READER 

great West solely for wool production. With 
the decline of the price of wool, however, many 
flocks were sent to market, and those which 
remained were kept not for wool alone, but 
also for mutton. It was soon found that the 
demand for mutton was increasing, and hence 
the production of the mutton sheep became 
profitable. There is now, therefore, more sys- 
tem in the management of the range flocks. 
Provision is now made for caring and feeding 
during the winter, where it was unheard of a 
few years ago. 

The introduction of the silo has been of great 
importance in developing the sheep industry. 
The silo is a large, air-tight comj^artment or 
building, where chopped green feed can be 
stored and preserved for use during winter or 
during dry, arid seasons. The food so stored is 
called " ensilage," and by its means live stock 
can be given a supply of fairly good green food 
practically the year round. 

The extension in our country of the successful 
cultivation of alfalfa is a great boon to live stock 
of all kinds. Formerly it was thought that this 
prince of forage plants could only be grown in 
our Pacific Coast States, where irrigation is 
practiced. But now, by the introduction of 
new varieties and different methods of treat- 
ment, the raising of alfalfa has been extended 



THE SHEEP 183 

to many of the Middle Western and Southern 
States. 

In sheep raising, as with all branches of 
farming, painstaking and systematic care and 
management are the price of success. More and 
more, as time goes on, the old, haphazard 
methods and the prejudices and " notions " are 
being found unprofitable, and the introduction 
of modern scientific methods is replacing them 
to a marked degree. 

From a number of accurate experiments we 
now know the chemical constituents of foods and 
the quantities to feed for the most satisfactory 
economic results. For example, it is a bad plan 
to feed sheep wholly on turnips, because turnips 
are a very watery food. Ten poimds of turnips 
contain nine pounds of water. 

Therefore, if sheep are to get enough solid food 
from turnips, they are compelled to eat a larger 
bulk of food than they require. 

Remember that the great principle in fatten- 
ing all live stock is to give such food that, while 
keeping them healthy, it will be turned into the 
best quality of bone and meat without overload- 
ing the digestive organs of the animal. 

Turnips, if they are fed, should be com- 
bined with other and more concentrated food, 
so that the animal will be nourished with as 
little waste of energy as possible. 



184 A COUNTRY READER 

In selecting sheep for any particular pur- 
pose or for any portion of our country, care 
should be exercised in the selection, so that the 
breed or breeds chosen may prove adapted to 
the climatic and other conditions of the locality, 
as well as for the requirements of the markets. 
This is now a comparatively easy matter, for 
owing to the work of the National Department of 
Acj^riculture and the various State Agricultural 
Experiment Stations there has now been accum- 
ulated a knowledsre of the different breeds of 
animals suited for the different localities, and this 
information can be obtained by the farmer on 
application to the proper authorities. There are 
also many books on the subject, written by men 
who have made special studies of the numerous 
problems pertaining to our agriculture. 

Diseases 

In all parts of our country, sheep are afflicted 
with what is known as " scab." Scab is pro- 
duced by a mite, which bores its way into 
the skin of the sheep, producing great itching 
and finally resulting in great patches of scab 
on the skin. The wool drops off from the 
affected spots, thus the quantity of wool pro- 
duced by the animal is reduced. In addition, 
the sheep is annoyed to such an extent that it 
loses flesh and becomes unsalable. The mites 



THE SHEEP 185 

may spread from one sheep to another, and thus 
whole flocks may be affected. In fact, it is said 
that one reason for the scarcity of the wild 
sheep of our mountains is the fact that they 
have become infested with the scab mites from 
the flocks of sheep pastured on the ranges, and 
as no means for controlling the mites exist in 
nature, the wild flocks have become decimated 
by their ravages. 

In order to get rid of the scab mites, the 
sheep must be dipped in a solution containing 
some substance which will destroy the parasites. 
There are a number of '^ sheep-dij^s " manu- 
factured and sold, practically all of which have 
as a basis some creosote-like substances. 

In damp lands, or where the sheep con- 
stantly have their feet in moist or wet soil, 
a disease called "foot rot" is common and ex- 
ceedingly troublesome. Sheep are not adapted 
to damp lands, and for that reason their pastures 
should be naturally dry or well drained. 

In our Southern States, sheep are afflicted with 
"nodular disease," caused by an internal para- 
site, — a small worm, which is picked up in in- 
fested pastures, and which produces nodules in 
the intestines. The disease is especially fatal to 
lambs. There seems to be no way of treating 
the disease or dislodging the parasites after once 
they have gained an entrance. The only remedy 



186 A COUNTRY READER ' | 

is a preventive one, and consists in changing 
the pastures, so that the parasites may not be 1 
carried from one animal to another. If no 
sheep are allowed to graze on the infested land 
for a period of a year or two, it may become 
free from the parasites giving the disease. It 
has been found that they are spread only by 
being picked up by the sheep while feeding. 

Some breeds are at least partially resistant 
to the disease ; and always, it should be re- 
membered, a vigorous and healthy animal is 
better able to withstand any attack of disease 
than is one of low vitality. Aim always, there- 
fore, to keep the animals of the flock in the best 
condition. 

Sheep should have always at hand a plentiful 
sujDply of dean water and rock salt. 

Care, patience, and systematic management 
will enable a man to succeed, wdiere otherwise 
failure is inevitable. 



CHAPTER Yl 

THE GOAT 

Wild Goats 

The goat has been so long in domestication 
that it is not definitely known what species of 
wild goats was the original stock from which our 
domesticated goats have developed. Naturalists 
do not agree on this point, but the majority 
thiuk that a species of wild goat existing in 
Persia and known as the Paseng was, as nearly 
as can be determined, the type of animal from 
which our common goats have descended. 

Of one thing we are certain, however : that 
the original wild goat lived on high mountains, 
amongst precipices and broken crags. We are 
supported in this belief by the fact that goats 
are proverbially agile climbers, and are so con- 
stituted that they are able to subsist upon the 
coarsest kind of herbage, scanty and coarse grass, 
fallen leaves and twio^s. 

The goat is more of a browsing than a graz- 
ing animal — that is, it selects the leaves and 
twigs of bushes, shrubs, and small trees for its 

187 



188 



A COUNTRY READER 



food, in preference to low-growing grass and 
herbs. Goats are not at all particular in the 
choice of their food, so far as flavor is concerned. 
They will eat anything and everything, no mat- 
ter how acrid or aromatic the flavor. The goat 
and the ass are very similar in this respect, for 




THE WILD GOAT. 



both are browsing animals, and are able to sub- 
sist on scant and coarse food. These animals 
will thrive on rugged mountains where the food 
is so scarce and coarse that any other farm ani- 
mals would starve. Goats will eat almost anv- 
thing, — leavings, bits of straw paper, even rags, 



THE GOAT 189 

waste from the garden, trimmings from hedges, 
bits of tobacco and cigar ends, wormwood, red 
peppers, or any other vegetable substances which 
no other animal would touch. 

It is supposed that the wild goats in order to 
preserve the race were compelled to cultivate a 
taste for coarse and aromatic food of all kinds, 
or perish. Most of the herbage which was 
available for their food in their native countries 
was aromatic, and often acrid and bitter. There- 
fore it follows that only those goats which could 
thrive amidst these conditions survived, while 
those which were unable to do so, perished, In 
this way a strain of animals has developed, 
which could subsist on highly aromatic plants, 
and the leaves and twigs of bushes. This taste 
and the ability to live on such herbage have been 
inherited by our present-day goats. 

On account of the severity of the climatic and 
food conditions under which the wild goats had 
to exist only the hardiest could survive, the 
result being that goats are proverbially hardy, 
beins: able to withstand all kinds of climate as 
long as they are not subjected to very damp 
conditions. Moreover, goats are peculiarly free 
from diseases which afflict many other domesti- 
cated animals. They have inherited this free- 
dom from disease from their hardy mountain 
ancestors. 



190 A COUNTRY READER 

In consequence of the scantiness of the food 
supplies in the native places of the wild goats, 
they had to roam over large stretches of country 
in order to get enough to eat. Our domesticated 
goats have inherited this wandering character- 
istic, with the ability to subsist on coarse and 
scanty food. They have also inherited from 
their ancestors extraordinary powers of climbing 
and jumping, together with very strong nerves 
and rare presence of mind. It required all of 
these qualities to enable the wild goats to exist 
amidst the lofty crags and precipices of their 
native home. 

These rare qualities of steady nerves and 
strong presence of mind which our domesticated 
goats have inherited, are often put to good use, 
as we shall read later on. 

Sheep, oxen, pigs, and horses on being fright- 
ened will easily lose their heads, be seized with 
a panic, and gallop wildly about ; but not so the 
goat. 

There is nothing that terrifies a horse more 
than a fire. So paralyzed with fear does the 
poor beast become, that if his stable is on fire 
w^hile he is in it, as a rule he has to be blind- 
folded before he can be led out. So when fires 
were more numerous than they are now, it was 
the custom to keep a goat in the stable, because 
in case of fire the goat, with his steady nerve 



THE GOAT 191 

and presence of mind, might give the lead out of 
the burning stable to the frightened horses. 

Cattle have a horror of the butcher's 
slaughterhouse. They seem to have the power 
of smelling the blood. So butchers have at 
times great difficulty in inducing the animals to 
enter their premises. Many of them therefore 
keep a goat that will give a lead and restore 
confidence to the frightened cattle. 

On the vast ranges of the West where sheep 
are kept in flocks of 1000 to 3000 or more, 
the sheep are liable to be stampeded by the 
attacks of wolves or coyotes. The shepherds 
liave learned that the presence of a few goats 
gives confidence to the sheep. The goats will 
make desperate efforts to defend themselves 
when attacked, and will often either frighten 
the attacking animals away, or even hold them 
at bay until they can be driven off or killed 
by the flock tenders. The sheep soon learn 
to depend upon the steady-headed and plucky 
goats, and when attacked at night the flocks 
will huddle around them for protection, instead 
of stampeding in fright. 

Intelligence and Climbing 

Goats are possessed of great intelligence, and 
this intelligence has been utilized to unload 
cattle ships. They will go to each part of the 



192 A COUNTRY READER 

ship where the cattle or sheep are penned, and 
lead the way over the gangway. And you all 
know how readily sheep will follow a leader. 

In consequence of the wild goat living its 
life on the heights, it has developed wonderful 
powers of sure-footedness. Where a sheep will 
jump, a goat will clamber ; hence some of the 
differences in shape between a leg of mutton and 
a leg of goat. 

To enable the sheep to jumjD, the muscles of 
the leg are full and large. 

To enable the goat to clamber, the muscles of 
the hind legs are lean and tight. 

To show the great natural intelligence of a 
goat, it is recorded on the best authority that 
two goats met on the narrow ledge of a preci- 
pice, where there was no room for one to pass 
the. other; so one goat deliberately lay down 
while the other goat stepped over him. That 
was a piece of intelligence, a bit of reasoning of 
a high order, and adapting of a means to an end. 
The means was the lying down of one goat so 
that the other goat might step over ; the end, 
the goats continuing their journey without harm 
to themselves. It also proved the wisdom of 
mutual help, for had they fought for the pos- 
session of the narrow ledge, the probabilities are 
that both would have lost their lives. 

To show you the extraordinary climbing 



THE GOAT 193 

power of a goat, one careful observer says that 
he once saw a pair of kids running races up and 
down the shafts of a disused farm roller, tilted 
at an angle of 45 degrees. AVhen they reached 
the extreme end of the shaft, lifted high up in 
the air, the steady-headed little creatures w^ould 
bring the tips of their little hootlets so close 
together that they could almost have rested on a 
penny, and then very slowly turn themselves 
round, as on a pivot, and slowly descend the 
shafts. 

By noticing the habits and doings of our do- 
mestic animals, what they eat, how they eat, 
their natural attitudes and ways, their little 
tricks, we are often able to learn what the 
surroundings were like amongst which their 
wild forefathers lived before they were domesti- 
cated by man. 

For instance, the steady nerves of the ass and 
the goat tell us that their ancestors must have 
lived where the surroundings called for the keep- 
ing of a cool and steady head. 

What conditions would more demand the 
constant exercise of a steady nerve and head 
than life amidst mountainous reo:ions ? 

We know that the ass is fond of thistles, and 
that the goat is fond of strong, pungent flavors. 
Both animals will thrive on food upon which 
other animals would starve ; both are very 

o 



194 A COUNTRY READER 

hardy and of a good constitution, seldom re- 
quiring the veterinary surgeon. 

These are the conditions, the surroundings 
that exist, wherever the wild representatives of 
the ass and the goat are found. 

The Uses of Goats 

Goats may serve three very useful purposes : 
they may be kept for their skins, of which 
there are nearly seventeen millions imported 
into the United States every year ; they may 
be kept for their yield of milk to be used for 
household purposes or for the manufacture of 
special kinds of cheese, such as Roquefort cheese ; 
or they may be kept for their fleeces of hair. 

There are, as yet, comparatively few goats 
kept in the United States for their skins alone, 
although this could be made profitable on some 
of our lands which are too poor for the produc- 
tion of farm crops. 

In the suburbs of some of our large American 
cities, goats are kept for milking. These ani- 
mals require little or no care, finding most of 
their food about the streets and roads ; and thus 
they serve a very useful purpose in supplying 
rich, fresh milk to young children who would 
otherwise be deprived of this life-giving nourish- 
ment. For this reason the goat is often called 
the " poor man's cow." 



THE GOAT 



195 



Goats' milk is more easy to digest than cows' 
milk, and is therefore very valuable for children 
and invalids. 

It is light, sweet, rich, and nourishing, not so 
heavy as cows' milk, but like it in flavor. 

Of course the quality of the milk yielded by 
goats varies with the kind of animal and the 



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GOAT AND KID. 



food which it eats. The goat is no exception to 
the rule that the best-bred animals must be kept 
if one expects to obtain good results. 

The goats kept for dairy purposes in the 



196 A COUNTRY READER 

United States are mostly selected from com- 
mon strains, and bred especially for milking 
purposes. The most profitable goats are of a 
dark color, with hard, stiff hair, not too great in 
quantity, with small heads and form of neck 
resembling that of a sheep. As a rule, hornless 
goats make the best milkers. 

Dairy Breeds 

There are special dairy breeds of goats. The 
best known of these are the Nubian, Bengal, 
Chinese, and Maltese. These breeds are prac- 
tically unknown in America, although they 
are used to a large extent in France and 
Switzerland, and to a small extent in Eng- 
land. 

The Nubian and Bengalese goats are excellent 
dairy animals. But they are suited only to 
warm countries, as they cannot stand cold or 
exposure. Some of these goats give as much as 
a gallon of milk per day. In Malta the entire 
milk supply for a population of 170,000 inhab- 
itants is yielded by goats. In these hot countries 
the goats are led around from door to door, and 
the milk which each householder requires is 
taken from the animal — a very effectual method 
of making sure that one obtains fresh and un- 
adulterated milk. 



THE GOAT 



197 



Fleece Breeds 

The goats which are bred and maintained for 
their fleeces are the Cashmere and the Angora. 
The Cashmere goat yields only a few ounces of 
soft, downy wool, from which the well-known 
Cashmere shawls are made in India. These 




ANGORA GOAT. 



animals are therefore valuable only in the lo- 
cality where their wool can be utilized. They 
are not at all suited to American conditions. 

The Angora goat, however, yields a fleece of 
long, silky hair, known as " mohair," and the 
average production per animal each year is about 
five pounds. The uses of mohair are increasing, 
hence the demand for the fleeces of Angora goats 
is steadily growing. Moreover, these goats may 
be bred and kept successfully in a great many 
sections of our country. They seem to be able 
to stand both extremes of heat and cold, pro- 
vided they are not exposed to damp conditions. 



198 



A COUNTRY READER 



The number of Angora goats is steadily in- 
creasing in the United States, and flocks are 
now kept successfully in practically every state 
of the Union. The Pacific Coast and the South- 
ern States, however, seem to have the advantage, 
because of their favorable climatic conditions and 
the existence of large areas of waste lands which 
are ill suited to the cultivation of crops. 

The Angora was introduced into America 
from Turkey in 1849. Two years prior to this, 

a Dr. Davis was 
recommended by 
the President of 
the United States 
to the Sultan of 
Turkey to assist 
the Turks in ex- 
perimental cot- 
ton culture. So 
well did Dr. 
Davis perform 
his duties that the Sultan, as a mark of appre- 
ciation, presented him with nine Angora goats, 
which he brought to the United States. 

Other importations of animals followed from 
time to time, until in 1881 the exportation of 
Angoras from Turkey was absolutely prohibited 
by the Sultan. This prohibition is still in force. 
Notwithstanding the Sultan's edict, a Dr. Bailey, 




.■»>i».« 



CASUMEKE GOAT. 



THE GOAT 199 

of San Jose, California, went to Asia Minor and 
managed to secure and ship four animals to the 
United States. These were brought to Cali- 
fornia and formed the foundation of the Bailey 
herd of Angoras, which has supplied animals for 
breeding purposes to all sections of America. 

As we have mentioned above, the Ans^ora 
goat is bred especially for its long, silky, and 
curly fleece of hair, which in commerce is known 
as mohair. In connection with wool, silk, and 
linen, mohair is manufactured into a great 
many fabrics, — ladies' goods, linings, plushes, 
astrachan cloth, furniture coverings, curtain 
materials, knitted goods, fancy effects in shawls, 
dress goods, and many other useful textiles. 
One kind of goods known as "camels' hair 
cloth " is not, as is ordinarily supposed, com- 
posed of hair from the camel. This cloth is 
made wholly from the fleece of the Angora goat. 
The name camels' hair in all probability is 
derived from the Arabian word " Chamal," which 
the Arabs apply to the Angora goat. 

We have seen that the wool of the sheep 
"felts" together — that is, the fibers chug to- 
gether by means of fine, spurlike scales, and thus 
form what we know as felt. Mohair fibers do 
not have these scales, and therefore possess no 
felting properties. This is one of the differences 
between sheep's wool and goat's hair. 



200 A COUNTRY READER 

In addition to the long, silky, and curly mo- 
hair, all Angora goats bear another kind of hair 
which is stiff and coarse, and which is known as 
" kemp." This kemp is undoubtedly the sur- 
vival of the stiff hair of the common wild goats. 

The larger the proportion of kemp present in 
the mohair, the less valuable it is for manufac- 
turing purposes. 

This is due to the fact that the kemp hair is 
not affected by the dyes which are used to dye 
the cloth, and therefore if it is present in the 
manufactured cloth or plush, it remains un- 
colored and shows up as dirty white specks. 
The manufacturer must therefore comb out the 
kemp. This is not only an expensive process, 
but it destroys* a great deal of the good mohair. 

It therefore follows that the more kemp there 
is amidst the mohair, the less price will the bulk 
bring. 

It can be used only to make the cheaper 
fabrics, such as rugs, horse blankets and cheap 
blankets, and low-grade goods generally. 

There is a large and increasing demand, at 
paying prices, for the best mohair ; but the low 
quality hair does not bring a price which will 
pay for its production. As with mohair, so with 
everything else : market the best, and it will pay 
you ; but send an inferior quality to market, and 
it will seldom pay the cost of producing it. 



THE GOAT 201 

\Yhile the Angora goat has no claims as a 
dairy animal, its milk is very nourishing and 
wholesome. The milk is produced in small 
quantities, but it is richer than cows' milk. 

The Angora hide is inferior to that of the 
common goat for the manufacture of leather. 
But the skins when tanned with the hair on 
make excellent rugs and carriage robes. There 
is a growing demand for the skins for this 
purpose. 

In addition to all these uses, Angora goats 
are exceedingly useful in clearing land of brush, 
young shrubs, and weeds. Some farmers find 
it profitable to keep Angoras for this purpose 
alone. They are all-round feeders and seem to 
avoid that kind of vegetation which is required 
by other farm animals. Every leaf and every 
twig within reach is greedily eaten, and even 
many w^eeds and shrubs which are either poison- 
ous or injurious to other stock are devoured 
with impunity by Angoras. They will desert 
the finest clovers and blue grass for the coarser 
foods. 

Not only are the brush and weeds effectively 
cleared away, but the goats will keep them 
down until eventually they die out. While thus 
effectively clearing the land, the droppings from 
the goats form very valuable manure, so that 
the ground is placed in the best possible condi- 



202 A COUNTRY READER 

tioii for the growth of nourishing grasses and 
forage crops. 

The Angora goat has not the disagreeable 
odor which is so objectionable in the common 
goats. The flesh is delicate and nourishing, and 
much resembles venison in flavor. In fact, it is 
said that one can hardly detect the difference 
between the flesh of the Angora goat and the 
flavor of true venison. It is proposed to give 
the Angora flesh the name " Angora venison" in 
the markets. 

In Chicago the use of Angora goats in the 
great slaughter pens and packing houses is 
steadilv increasino;. In the mountainous dis- 
tricts of California, miners prefer Angora flesh 
to mutton for salting down for winter use, be- 
cause it contains less fat, keeps better, and is 
just as palatable. 

Hard, dry, rocky situations are best suited to 
Angora goats. In wet, marshy ground they 
soon contract the deadly and disagreeable dis- 
ease known as foot rot. On lands devoid of 
stones the goats' hoofs must be trimmed from 
time to time, as otherwise they will grow to 
great length and hinder the animals in walking. 
In rocky situations the stones and rocks wear 
away the hoofs as they grow, and so no trim- 
ming is necessary. 

The fleece is supposed to be of finer quality in 



THE GOAT 203 

cold climates and mountainous districts tlian in 
warmer regions. But it has been found by 
experiment that the quality of the hair can be 
very largely influenced by breeding, feeding, and 
care. In mountainous districts the presence of 
a more highly electrified atmosphere is supposed 
to add luster to the hair. 

In cold climates the goats are clipped only 
once each year. In southern and warmer cli- 
mates two clippings per year must be made. 
Otherwise the goats Avill shed their coats and 
thus the mohair will be lost. The two clippings 
per year have been found to yield a larger aver- 
age weight of hair, but the quality is inferior. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PIG 
The Wild Pig 

The wild forefathers of oiir present pig of the 
sty — the wild pig — wandered in herds, amidst 
the woods, thickets, brambles, and jungles that 
at one time — very long ago — grew over a 
large portion of the world's surface. 

These wild pigs had a hard struggle to live, 
for they had many enemies. The wild bear, the 
wolf, and the panther knew, long before man, 
how sweet was a dinner of pork, and so these 
beasts of prey were always on the lookout to 
cap)ture and kill a stray pig. 

These wild pigs were tall, long, lean, scraggy- 
looking animals, with large, narrow, sinewy 
frames, and arched backs, the bones of which 
stuck up in a very ugly manner. Their snouts 
were long and powerful. 

In appearance these w^ild pigs were very dif- 
ferent from the round-ljodied, short-in-the-leg, 
long-in-the-back, short-in-the-snout pigs that we 
so often admire in well-kept sties and piggeries, 
and at as^ricultural shows, when these domestic 

204 



THE PIG 



205 



pigs are reasonably fattened, and not fattened 
out of all shape and use. 

For purposes of niutual defense, these Avild 
pigs lived in herds, so that if one pig of the herd 
Avas attacked, his ear-splitting squeals would soon 
call his fellow-pigs to his assistance. 

That a pig's squeals are not only cries of 
fright, but cries for assistance, jou can prove 




WILD BOAR. 



for yourself by trying to hold a pig by force. 
His overpowering squeals will cause all other 
pigs within hearing to leave oft: feeding and 
sleeping, and will arouse them to excitement. 
If possible, they will collect in a body and 
they will look like making an attack upon you 
in order to rescue their distressed comrade. 



206 A COUNTRY READER 

Kemember that the wild pigs lived mostly in 
wooded places, where there grew plenty of thick 
grass, brambles, and undergrowth; so that when 
a herd of pigs were searching for roots and food, 
they could not keep each other in sight. 

The herd, therefore, had to adopt some sound 
or signal to keep their members together, and to 
tell each other and their leader when they were 
attacked. 

The constant grunt, grunt, grunt of a pig 
would be a splendid and effective signal to keep 
a herd of pigs together when they were search- 
ing for food amidst the undergrowth, out of 
sight of one another. 

And no more effective sound could a wild pig 
have used, when attacked, than his piercing 
squeal. 

So you see a pig's grunt and squeal are really 
forms of rude speech, or signals of speech, to 
keep the herd together for mutual help, and are 
also calls from a pig in suffering or danger to 
the other pigs of the herd for help. 

The leader of the herd never failed to answer 
these squeals of alarm and for assistance ; for 
the wild boar was a brave and perfectly fearless 
beast. He would attack anything, however small 
or large, and by means of his powerful head and 
shoulders could drive his fearful tusks into and 
rip open the body of his foe. 



THE PIG 



207 



Very few wild animals, even in numbers, dared 
ever attack an old boar when he was in such 
a position that his enemies had to attack him 
in front, without a chance of reaching him either 
on his flank or in his rear. 

Travelers tell us that the wild boar has been 
known to kill a tiger in fair fight, and hunters 
say that no animal is more to be feared than a 
wild boar at bay. 

You may be quite sure that all the different 
sounds, pitches and grades of sound, throughout 
all the living world around you, mean some- 
thing, and are understood by other animals of 
the same kind; and that the different animals and 
birds utter their different sounds or songs, be- 
cause at one time they were of use to them for 
self-preservation. 

When in the wild state a pig grunted and 
squealed for such long ages in order to preserve 
its life and the lives of its companions, that now 
he grunts from habit when in his sty, although 
his grunt can be of little or no use to him. 

A Pig's Shape 

The shape of a pig, the formation of his feet, 
the firmness of his well-knit flesh, the hardness 
and elasticity of his bristles, all point to the 
fact that his wild forefathers sought their food 



208 A COUNTRY READER 

amidst the sharp prickles of bramble and dense 
undergrowth of thick grass and vegetation. 

A pig's skin is tough, his coat is bristly, his 
nose and head shaped like a wedge, so that 
he can force his way through dense vegetation. 
His hide is especially tough about the neck and 
shoulders, and is covered with bristly hairs, so 
that the thorns slide along and do not pierce 
the skin. In fact, a wild pig rushing headlong 
through a thick, thorn}^, undergrowth of bramble 
and briers is not merely uninjured, but probably, 
by setting up a healthy friction of the skin, he 
keeps himself in hard condition and in vigorous 
health. 

A Pig's Fat saves its Life 

You have read that a farmer's great aim is to 
produce a cow that will give the most abundant 
flow of milk on the smallest quantity of food, 
and to produce a steer that will come to matu- 
rity early and |)ut on the greatest weight of flesh 
on the smallest amount of food. 

The great object in feeding pig^ for profit is 
to rear and breed only from those strains that 
will fatten the most readily and quickly on the 
food which you have or which you can. spare to 
give them. 

Some varieties of pigs will do best on one sort 
of food, other varieties will do best on other sorts 



THE PIG 209 

of food. \Yliicli variety of pigs will do best for 
you can only be learned, like many things in 
connection with farming, from your own experi- 
ence, or from the experience of others who have 
been successful in your district. 

The natural inclination of all pigs is to put on 
a large amount of flesh in a very short time. 

By domesticating the pig, and keeping it in 
confinement, and breeding only from animals 
which produce small bones and much flesh, man 
has considerably improved on the wild pig for 
fattening and eating. 

But man did not create the inclination on the 
part of a pig to put on flesh in a short space of 
time. This was necessary for a pig, wdien in its 
wild state, to put on flesh quickly, in order to 
preserve its life. 

This may seem strange reading to you. What, 
you may say, a pig's fat preserves its life — how 
can that be ? I should have thought the very 
reverse is the case, — that a pig's fat w^ould 
endanger its life. 

But just try to picture a wild pig's life. 

By grubbing for roots with his powerful snout, 
he, probably, during the spring and early sum- 
mer, got a spare living. By very hard w^ork lie 
could get just suflicient food to keep himself 
warm, keep up his strength, and keep himself 
alive ; just sufficient food, in fact, to take off the 



210 A COUNTRY READER 

edge of his hunger. He^, probably, during the 
spring and early summer, never could obtain 
sufficient food to give him a good square meal 
that would satisfy his appetite. Therefore he 
had no chance of putting on fat. 

But the late summer and autumn come round, 
and then the pig's harvest is at hand. The 
beech masts or beechnuts, the acorns, — so fat- 
tening to pigs, — and all manner of nuts and 
tree fruits fall in abundance, and then all around 
is an ample supply of food. 

No longer is there any need for the wild pig 
to work hard all day to search for, and root up, 
a scanty quantity of root food, because his food 
lies on the surface of the ground, requiring 
little or no effort to find. 

The pig, therefore, can now fill his stomach, 
satisfy his appetite, lie down and sleep, wake u]3, 
and eat of the beechnuts, acorns, nuts, and 
fruits that have fallen during the night or during 
his sleep. 

Therefore, during this time of plenty, the pig 
not only keeps up his strength and health, but 
stores uj) a reserve of fat over and above his 
immediate requirements. 

We cannot think that the pig knew that he 
was laying in this store of fat to draw upon, 
against the time of the coming winter, when food 
would be so scarce and difficult to obtain. He 



THE PIG 211 

only ate his hardest and fastest in obedience to 
what his nature told him to do. The feeling 
that he must eat all he could of the good rich 
things around him was laid on him, and he did 
his very best to be obedient to this feeling. 

During this time of plenty, his natural enemies, 
and especially the bears, let him alone, because 
the bears found that the ripe berries, honey, and 
nuts were a good change of diet for the summer, 
which they could obtain with much less difficulty 
than they could catch and kill a wild pig. There 
was the danger, too, from the brave old boar 
that guarded with desperate pluck the herd 
over which he ruled with absolute command. 

Moreover, honey, nuts, and ripe berries were 
a more suitable food in the summer for the bears 
than a meal of pig flesh. 

You must have felt in hot weather a much 
greater inclination to eat fruit, eggs, and vege- 
tables than meat, and you are wise to carry out 
your inclination, for in hot weather you do not 
require food that creates much warmth. When 
the weather gets cold, then it is that you feel 
inclined to eat meat, because meat gives you 
heat which in cold weather you require. 

You must have noticed how all animals in hot 
weather turn eagerly to cool food. The horse, 
when in the stable, will eat greedily of the green 
stuff that ought to be given him ; the cow will do 



212 A COUNTRY READER 

best on the young cooling grasses of the fresh 
pastures ; and your pigs will do best on food that 
does not heat their blood too much. 

So you see the wild pig had, during the 
summer and autnmn, every chance of getting 
fat ; but he had to get fat in a few weeks, and 
so the wild pig's descendants, our domesticated 
pigs, have inherited from their wild ancestors a 
natural inclination to put on flesh with greater 
rapidity than any other farm animal. 

An animal takes in and digests its food 
throuQ-h its stomach and intestines. 

The pig has a small stomach but a long in- 
testine, a longer intestine in proportion to its 
body than either sheep or cattle. In consequence 
of the long intestine, pigs are able to digest the 
food they eat more quickly and more thoroughly 
than any other animal ; and as you have read, it 
is not the quantity an animal consumes that of 
necessity does good, but what the animal digests : 
in other words, it is the proportion of the food 
taken which is turned into flesh, fat, muscle, and 
bone, that does the good. 

Some careful experiments have been made, 
and they prove that out of every 100 pounds of 
food which a steer digests 23 pounds go to in- 
crease the size of its body; that out of every 100 
pounds that a sheep digests 26 pounds go to in- 
crease the size of its body; but that out of every 



THE PIG 213 

100 pounds that a pig digests 46 pounds go to 
increase the size of its body. 

These facts show us that a pig can get fat in' 
a shorter space of time than any other farm 
animal. 

Let us return to the wild pig. He has had 
during tlie late summer and early autumn a 
good time of it and become very fat ; but now 
the days begin to shorten, the air gets colder, 
the leaves have dropped from the trees, all the 
acorns and beechnuts and fallen fruit that the 
pig can find have been eaten up. Again he has 
to work hard with his snout to find his root 
food. 

Then a little later, not only does food become, 
scarce, but the frost hardens the ground, so that 
even his powerful snout cannot get beneath the 
soil for the roots that he requires. 

Then it is that his terrible trial begins. Not 
only is all the surface food gone, and the ground 
hard, so that he can dig with difficulty, or not at 
all, but his enemies, the bears, have consumed all 
their summer food, and the cold weather makes 
them long for a dinner of pig flesh. And so the 
poor pig is constantly on the move, and is always 
fearful and on his guard against his destroyers. 

You can well understand that under such 
conditions as these, many pigs would die of star- 
vation or be eaten by their enemies, and only those 



214 A COUNTRY READER 

pigs could survive who, in the happy days of 
abundance during the late summer and autumn, 
have become very strong and have stored up 
a plentiful supply of fat. For when the winter 
days of scant food were upon them, the pigs had 
to live partially on their reserve of fat. There- 
fore, what we term nature has preserved only 
those pigs that in the few days of plenty could 
store up the greatest quantity of fat. 

The farmer by his experience has noticed the 
natural tendency on the part of the pig to fatten 
quickly on a small amount of food, and has 
turned that natural tendency to his advantage 
by domesticating the pig, confining it in a pen, 
and feeding it for the requirements of man. 

A pig will consume and do well on much that 
would otherwise be wasted. The whey from 
cheese ; the buttermilk from the churn ; the j)ar- 
ings from the potato ; the odds and ends left 
from the table ; small roots, and potatoes that 
the farmer either does not care to eat himself or 
to give to his stock; the "bran and sharps" 
from the outside coats of the grains of wheat, 
the inside of which the miller makes into flour 
— all these things the pig will thrive upon. 
And so, by means of the pig, the farmer can 
turn the leavings of his farm into money. 

The farmer indeed has to be srrateful for that 
grim effort to lay on flesh in a short space of 



THE PIG 215 

time, thcat went on in those far-back ages when 
the pig wandered about in his wild state. And 
he should also be equally grateful for the fact 
that all tliose pigs that could not lay on a suffi- 
ciency of flesh in a short space of time were 
killed by their hungry enemies, or died from 
starvation during the severe cold of the winter. 

It is wxll known that a pig by itself will not 
fatten so readily as two pigs kept together, 
partly, perhaps, because pigs are naturally socia- 
ble animals, and have been accustomed to live 
together in herds. Animals that have been 
accustomed to live in herds will fret when they 
are alone, and will not do so well as when they 
have a companion. 

Another reason is that pigs are greedy, selfish 
animals. If you watch two pigs feeding out of 
a trough, you will notice that their one object 
seems to be to get as much of the food as pos- 
sible, and they will gobble and swallow with 
the utmost rapidity, eating far more than they 
would do if they were alone. 

Luckily, they can digest their food quickly — 
that is, they can turn it quickly into bone, flesh, 
fat, and muscle. 

Why Pigs are Greedy 

Is there any reason for the excessive greedi- 
ness of a pig ? Why should all animals whose 



216 A COUNTRY READER 

forefathers lived in herds gobble their food down 
so quickly ? Place a plate of food before two 
dogs, or throw some meat into a kennel of dogs, 
and you can see their greediness and selfishness. 

But place a ]3late of food before two cats; 
they will pick bits out with the utmost delicacy, 
and, taking them away, will eat in quietness 
and at their leisure. 

What is the reason for these different methods 
of eating by the dog and cat ? If you wish to 
live your best, to be keen in intellect and be- 
come a good worker, try to find out the reason 
for everything that goes on around you. There 
is a reason for everything ; but owing to our im- 
perfect knowledge, we only know the reasons for 
a very few facts. Trying to find out the reason 
for this and the reason for that makes all the 
difference between an intelligent man and a 
stupid one. 

Well, why should a pig and a dog bolt their 
food wdth the utmost rapidity and greediness, 
while the cat and the tiger will leisurely and 
delicately eat their food ? 

Now, consider them in their wild state. Dogs 
and pigs lived in herds, and they had, you may 
be quite sure, great difficulty in obtaining their 
food, and when they did find a store it was more 
than likely that it was not sufficient to satisfy 
the hunger of every member of the community ; 



THE PIG 217 

SO, to get anything like a meal, each member 
had to eat its hardest and fastest. 

You cannot imagine any condition of things 
more likely to make an animal greedy or selfish. 

Now, cats did not live in herds, but in pairs, 
and so when they killed some animal for food, 
they dragged it away to their caves, or lairs, and 
being only two, and perhaps a few little ones, 
they had more than sufficient food for all ; there 
was no need for them to bolt their food, and in 
consequence they ate quietly and at their leisure. 

This is probably the explanation of the differ- 
ent methods of feeding of the dog and pig, and 
the tiger and cat. 

Reason for a Long and Powerful Snout 

It was a necessity for a wild pig that he should 
possess not only a very powerful, sensitive snout, 
but also that he should possess a very keen smell, 
in order that before he began to dig it should 
tell him of the whereabouts of the roots upon 
which to feed. 

The modern pig, therefore, inherits from his 
wild ancestors a very powerful snout. So pow- 
erful is it that unless a ring is j)ut through his 
nose, he will root up the bricks and stones of 
which the floors of some pigpens are made. 

Not only is the pig's snout very powerful, but 



218 A COUNTRY READER 

it is also very delicate; so that the least crevice 
or crack between the stones or bricks of the 
pen can be detected. 

A pig's smell for underground roots is so 
strong that pigs have been trained to hunt for 
truffles. The truffle is related to the mush- 
room, and is considered a great delicacy. It is 
about the size of a plum, or small potato, and 
grows about one foot beneath the ground, and 
upon the roots of certain oak trees. 

A 23ig was once broken in by a gamekeeper to 
tell the shooters the whereabouts of a covey of 
partridges, and it was observed that the pig 
noticed the scent of the partridges when it had 
been passed over by the best pointer dogs. 

You see how, to preserve its life in the wild 
state, an animal adopts certain habits. Man, 
then, observes these habits, and seeks how they 
can be of use to him ; so he domesticates the 
animal and presses it into his service. But man 
goes farther than this : he is not satisfied with 
the habit of the wild animal ; by selection, or 
by breeding and rearing only from those animals 
that look nearest like the ideal he has in view, 
he still further develops the habits of the wild 
ancestry. 

In their endeavors to escape their enemies, 
to live and not to die, a wild horse developed 
powers of speed, a wild cow developed powers of 



THE PIG 219 

producing milk, a wild pig developed powers of 
putting on fat in a short space of time. And 
these habits, acquired by animals when in their 
wild state, have been used and increased by man 
in the service of man, and have added to human 
happiness and power. 

Is A Pig a Dirty Animal ? 

A pig is said to be a greedy feeder, that 
will eat almost anything either in the vegetable 
world or in the animal world. If, however, a 
pig had been a dainty feeder, he could not have 
survived the hard time he had to live through 
when in his wild condition. But it is because 
he will eat and thrive on almost anything, live 
where other farm animals will starve, that he 
is so valuable to the farmer. Any waste from 
kitchen, dairy, or garden can be turned to profit 
as food for the pigs. And if a saucepan or 
kettle is kept going, as it always ought to be 
where pigs are kept, the small and diseased 
potatoes, every kind of small roots, and all the 
green refuse of the garden, can be put into it 
and boiled into a good dinner for the pigs. If it 
be near selling time, and you wish to push your 
pigs on a bit, add to the stew a few handfuls 
of meal and bran. 

Don't despise the pig and its unclean, greedy 
habits of eating, because it is owing to these 



220 A COUNTRY READER 

very habits tliat he has helped, and is helping, 
to support many a home. 

It is said that the pig is a dirty animal in its 
habits. This, however, is not so if the animal 
is given a chance of being clean. Let the pen 
face a warm aspect, say south, and let his 
sleeping place contain some clean litter or 
straw ; let the floor be made of hard brick, or, 
better still, of concrete, and let it be so sloped that 
all the wet runs into a drain cut along the 
end of the pen which in its turn empties into 
a cess|)ool outside. Feed with such food that, 
while you fatten him, you keep his blood cool, 
and you will find that he is a cleanly animal. 

But give him food that heats his blood, with 
no cooling salt and green stuff, and let his pen 
be filled with dirt and slush, with no proper 
drainage, and the poor beast will naturally lose 
all self-respect, and roll in the filth to keep the 
heat of his blood down. 

The more you treat animals with considera- 
tion and thought, or as you would wish to be 
treated if you were in their place, the greater 
will be your success with them, and the more 
money you will make out of them. 

The sweeter will be the bacon, and therefore 
the better price will it bring, if the pig be kept 
under wholesome conditions and wisely and 
carefully fed. 



THE PIG 221 

But not only does our pig consume all the 
waste, but after he is killed he leaves no waste 
behind him. 

All parts of the pig are useful. Even the 
head and feet are pickled and sent to market. 
The blood, too, may be used to make a very rich 
and wholesome pudding. The skin is made into 
saddles. The bristles, especially those of the 
wild boar, are made into brushes. The internal 
fat is made into lard. The intestines are used 
for sausage coverings, and other internal parts 
may be fried and eaten. The body, when fresh, 
is cut up into joints, and when pickled, salted, and 
smoked is marketed as bacon, sides, and hams. 

You have read that the pig is a good utilizer 
of waste material about the farm. No farms 
should be without them. Just how many may 
be kept will, naturally, depend upon the quan- 
tity of w^aste there is about a place. Where 
there is only a small farm, and comparatively 
few persons on the place, one or two pigs will 
consume all the waste. But on the large 
farms or ranches, where a great many men 
are employed, there will be a sufficient quantity 
of waste to feed a number of pigs. 

The pigs kept about a farm may be considered 
as merely accessories, and the meat so produced 
is often eaten by the farmer and his family and 
hired men. 



222 A COUNTRY READER 

There are, however, farms where pigs are 
raised for market in large numbers. On such 
farms pig raising is the main object in view. 
Roots and forage are raised with the special 
object of supporting and fattening the largest 
number of pigs. The aim, therefore, of these 
farmers is to produce an animal which will 
yield the largest quantity of marketable meat 
upon the least amount of food in the shortest 
possible time. 

In the early days of our country every farmer 
produced his own meat upon his farm. He 
killed and '^ put up " his pigs, prepared his bacon 
and hams, and pickled or '' corned " his beef. 
Nowadays, very little of this is done. The 
growth of the " packing-house " industry, coupled 
with the development of rapid railway trans- 
portation, have rendered it cheaper for the 
farmer to buy his meat both fresh and prepared. 

Whether it be crops or animals, the highest 
quality yields the largest profit, and pigs are no 
exception to this rule. It pays best to keep only 
the best breeds which are suitable to the con- 
ditions of the districts and markets. Give the 
animals the best of care, feed them well, and 
see that they have good and clean quarters. A 
well-bred animal comes to maturity earlier, fat- 
tens more readily, yields a finer quality of meat, 
and costs no more to keep than a roughly bred 



THE PIG 223 

animal. In addition, he brings a better price in 
the markets. 

There are still a great many rough or " scrub " 
pigs kept in our country, but the tendency is in 
the direction of improved breeds, and methods 
of feeding and keeping them. Our farmers are 
becoming better educated. The progress of 
science and the results of scientific experiments 
by our American colleges and experiment stations 
are teaching^ the farmers how to breed better 
animals, and how to feed them to better advan- 
tage. This is true not only with the breeding 
of horses, cows, pigs, and other animals, but in 
all lines of agricultural pursuits. 

Hogs can be raised at a profit in any locality 
where crops to feed them can be raised cheaply. 
At one time it was thought impossible to raise 
pigs without corn, and consequently those locali- 
ties where corn could not be produced were 
thought unfit for profitable pig raising. This 
has been found to be a mistake, and we now 
have pigs profitably raised without corn. 

Pigs thrive on a variety of feeds, and wherever 
these feeds can be produced abundantly and 
cheaply, pig raising can be carried on at a profit. 
Alfalfa has been found to be an excellent crop 
for pigs. During the past few years the cul- 
tivation of this wonderful forage plant has 
been extended to all parts of our country. The 



224 A COUNTRY READER 

introduction and successful growth of alfalfa in 
parts of the United States where a few years 
ago it was thought impossible to raise it, has 
greatly extended the possibilities of the produc- 
tion of all classes of farm animals. 

A plentiful supply of good, clean water is 
essential for successful pig raising. A large 
stream of water is not necessary or even desir- 
able, partly because of the dangers from over- 
flows and partly because a large stream may 
often carry deadly disease germ-S long distances, 
from one herd to another. 

A good spring which is not contaminated 
with drainage is by far the best source of water- 
supply. Shallow, stagnant pools, where the 
pigs can wallow, are undesirable, and should 
never be permitted. Such pools are in far too 
common use, and while undoubtedly many hogs 
have been successfully reared amidst such condi- 
tions, it is also true that much loss from disease 
has been occasioned thereb}^ 

It is a common idea that a pig needs to wal- 
low in the mud in order to thrive. This is a 
mistake. Pigs wallow to cool themselves when 
they are overheated by being fed with a large 
excess of heating foods during warm weather. 
Give them food suited to the weather conditions, 

— food which will not overheat their blood, 

— and plenty of pure, clean water to drink, and 



THE PIG 225 

they will not care to wallow. Shade should 
be provided to protect them during the heat 
of the day. And the best shade is obtained 
from trees in the pig yards. Trees do not ob- 
struct the circulation of air ; therefore, they 
are better for summer protection than buildings 
of any kind. 

Pigs thrive better when kept in small droves 
than when they are kept in larger numbers. In 
a large drove, the older or stronger pigs always 
crowd out the younger or weaker ones, and, 
therefore, it is advisable to divide the droves, 
according to tlieir different ages and sizes. 

Pigs should have sufficient exercise to keep 
them in a healthy growing condition, but not 
enough to make them thin. The yards should 
therefore be large enough to allow the pigs to 
exercise. It is a mistake to keep them continu- 
ally in small pens. 

Breeds of Pigs 

The selection of a breed depends entirely 
upon the conditions existing amidst which the 
farmer is placed. The farmer to be successful 
in hog production must study his market, his 
means of transportation, and above all the kinds 
of feed he is able to grow, and the cost of pro- 
ducing them. 

The breeds in most common use in the United 



226 A COUNTRY READER 

States are Berkshires, Poland Chinas^ Chester 
Whites, and Duroc Jerseys. 

Berkshires. — As indicated by the name, this 
is an Enghsh breed, originating in the county 
of Berkshire. It is safe to say that the Berk- 
shire is the most common breed of pigs in the 
United States. They were first imported about 
1825, and since that time much attention has 
been given to their careful breeding by Ameri- 
can breeders. 

Berkshires when properly fed ought to weigh 
at six to nine months between 200 and 250 
pounds live weight. They gain in weight up to 
two years old, when a weight of from 500 to 
600 pounds is not exce23tional. 

The color of the American-bred Berkshire 
is black, with white feet and small line of white 
on the face and a white spot at the tip of the 
tail. The face is short and '' dished." The 
ears are erect and inclining forward, bat thin 
and delicate. 

They are good riustlers and will make a 
good living for themselves when turned out 
to pasture. They quickly respond to fattening 
food. 

An important consideration is that there is 
less loss between live and dead weight than 
with most other breeds. 

Objections cited against the Berkshires are 



THE PIG 227 

nervousness and excitability, thus rendering it 
necessary to handle them very carefully. It 
is also claimed that their bones are extremely 
light, and therefore they are easily liable to mis- 
haps and accidents. When carefully handled 
and properly fed, there is perhaps no better 
variety of pigs. 

Poland Chinas. — This breed is distinctly 
American in origin and type. It originated 
in Ohio, where the type was fixed. The breed 
is a mixture and blendino; of the following; 
breeds : Big China, Berkshire, Irish Graziers, 
and Byfields. And the basis upon which the 
breed was established was a so-called '^ native " 
hog, which was brought in by early German 
settlers, supposedly from Poland. 

The color of the Poland Chinas is black and 
white spotted, either white or black predomi- 
nating. They are very large. At maturity they 
weigh from 600 to 750 pounds, and shoats 9 
months old easily attain 250 pounds. The face 
is dished. The ears are large, thin, and drooj)ing 
— '' lop ears," as they are called. 

The Poland Chinas are said not to be such 
good grazing animals as the Berkshires. When 
turned out, they cannot take such good care of 
themselves. But they have a quiet disposition, 
are not excitable, and therefore are not liable to 
lose in weight from this cause. They have a 



228 



A COUNTRY READER 



strong, fine bone, which permits them to carry a 
large load of fat safely. 

Chester Whites. — This is another breed of 
American origin. It derives its name from the 
place of its origin, Chester County, Pennsyl- 
vania. 

As indicated by the name, the color is pure 
white. The head is short, with long, thin ears 




LAEGE WHITE. 



pointed forward and with a decided " lop." In 
size the Chester White ranks with the largest 
breed, weighing at maturity from 600 to 700 
pounds. A nine-months-old shoat will weigh 
about 175 to 250 pounds. They are especially 
adapted for corn-feeding, and are said to surpass 
all other breeds in the rapidity with which they 



THE PIG 229 

will fatten on this feed. They are quiet, even 
lazy, consequently fatten easily. The breed is 
not suited for hot climates. 

Duroc Jerseys. — The positive origin of this 
breed is not known. A strain was bred for 
many years in New Jersey, which in time 
became known as the "Jersey Red." At the 
same time, anotlier strain of red pigs w^as being 
bred in New York, which in time became known 
as the " Duroc." Later it was discovered that 
these two strains w^ere undoubtedly of the same 
origin. Although they were bred and improved 
in different localities, the two strains were found 
to possess qualities common to both. The two 
strains were finally recognized as the same 
breed and were given the name under which 
they are now known, viz. — Duroc Jersey. 

The color is a cherry or sandy red, without 
admixture of other tints. The face is only 
slightly dished. The ears are not large, but are 
drooping. The Duroc Jerseys are among the 
larf>:est of the modern breeds, weio^hino; at ma- 
turity from 400 to 700 pounds, and marketing 
at 8 or 9 months from 175 to 250 pounds, 
dressed. They are especially long-bodied ani- 
mals, thus making larger " sides " than most 
other breeds, which many buyers consider an 
advantage. Duroc Jerseys are quiet animals, 
are ravenous feeders, and do well on grass 



230 A COUNTRY READER 

pasturage. They fatten easily and grow very 
rapidly. They are adapted to conditions in the 
Southern States, as they can stand the high 
summer temperatures. 

Certain strains of j)igs have been bred for 
the purpose of making pork. The best animal 
for this purpose is naturally the one which 
can convert a pound of feed into the heaviest 
and best quality of meat in the shortest possible 
time. For generations these animals have been 
selected by breeders, while the inferior ones have 
been rejected. In consequence, strains of ani- 
mals have been fixed which tend to make rapid 
growth upon a small amount of feed. 

The scrub pig, on the other hand, has not 
been bred with any particular end in view, ex- 
cept perhaps to develop an animal which will, 
with a hardy constitution, take care of itself on 
the scantiest and roughest feed. Amidst the 
primitive surroundings in which the scrub pig 
lives, it naturally has not developed a quick 
growth or easy fattening qualities. It is very 
little different to-day from its wild ancestors. 
In the absence of both nuts and berries it must 
either root for its living or die, and in its en- 
deavors to live amidst hard conditions the qual- 
ity of its meat has greatly suffered. 

Over a large portion of our country — espe- 
cially in the Southern States — these scrub pigs 



THE PIG 231 

have been nicknamed " Razor Backs." These 
aminals are very different from the well-rounded, 
highly bred animals. They are poor and gaunt, 
and the quality of their flesh is inferior. Of 
course, as it costs practically nothing to keep 
them, they will continue to exist until an en- 
lightened policy proves the wisdom of keeping 
only the better-bred animal. 



CHAPTER yill 

POULTRY 

Wild Fowl 

In the jungles or woods of India there is 
found to-day a wild fowl somewhat like, in 
coloring and appearance, the domesticated game 
fowl. 

When Europe was in an uncultivated condi- 
tion, when there stretched far and wide tracts 
of forest and wood, with dense undergrowth of 
bracken and bramble, uncleared and unclaimed 
by man, a wild fowl similar in appearance to 
that found to-day in the jungles of India lived 
and wandered without restraint. 

From this wild fowl it is said that most of 
our domesticated fowls have descended. 

Had it not been for man's needs, the original 
wild fowl would still have wandered here and 
there as it desired, unaltered in appearance and 
habits ; and then no Plymouth Rock, Wyan- 
dotte, or Buff-Orpington would have tamely 
occupied our barnyards and poultry runs. 

Man's necessities compelled him to catch and 
confine the wild fowl, to improve their power 

238 



POULTRY 



233 



of laying eggs, and also their power of putting 
on, in a short time, a quantity of white flesh. 

If man wanted a good table fowl, he " set " 
the eggs laid by those of his hens that looked as 




INDIAN JUNGLE FOWLS. 



The probable ancestors of our modern fowls. About the size of a bantam. 

if they w^ould make a rapid growth, a fine white 
quality of flesli, and a large amount of meat on 
the breast. 

If man wanted a large quantity of eggs, he 



234 



A COUNTRY READER 



simply " set " the eggs laid by those of his hens 
which had produced the greatest number of 

eggs in a given 
amount of time 
with the least 
inclination to sit. 
And so he went 
on, selecting and 
selecting in this 
manner, until, in 
course of time, he 
bred a race of 
hens that have 
lost a mother's 
instinct, and do 
not offer to sit. 

The hens of 
this race have 
been bred mostly 
around the Mediterranean Sea, — Ancona An- 
dalusians. Leghorns (Italian), Spanish, Houdans 
(French), Minorcas. 

But most keepers of poultry require a strain 
that will lay a fair amount of eggs, and chickens 
that will grow quickly, on the smallest amount 
of food, into fine tender birds for eating ; a fowl 
that will sit close to her eggs and make a good 
and faithful mother ; so primarily for size 
there have been bred the Asiatic breeds, such 




BUFF-ORPINGTON. 



POULTRY 



235 



as the Cochins and the Langshans, and for 
general purposes the Plymouth Rock and Wyan- 
dottes, both American breeds, which make ad- 
mirable all-round, general purpose fowls. The 
English breed, Buff-Orpington, is also an excel- 
lent general purpose bkd and now finds much 
favor among American poultry keepers. 

Poultry on the Farm 
Most farmers look upon the fowls about their 
barnyards as the most insignificant part of their 
live stock. Often . 

the grown adult 
male members of 
the farmer's fam- 
ily consider it 
beneath their 
dignity "to 
waste their time " 
on the care of the 
hens. If the poul- 
try does get any 
care, it is usually 
left to the over- 
burdened house- 
wife, with such 
assistance as she may be able to get from the 
younger boys and girls of the family. It often 
happens that the hens are allowed to shift for 




BLACK MINORCA. 



236 A COUNTRY READER 

themselves. Despite this want of care the poul- 
try and egg crop forms, as a whole, one of the 
most important and valuable products of our 
American farms. 

There is always a strong demand for fresh 
eggs and high-class poultry. But in order to be 




WHITE LEGHORN. 



really profitable, eggs and poultry must be of the 
best quality. When our markets are filled to 
overflowing with the old, stale, ill-flavored stor- 
age eggs and the thin, tough, and frozen poultry, 
it is not surprising that purchasers pass them by 
and give their preference to beef, mutton, and 
pork. 

We should eat more poultry. It is whole- 
some food, and ought to be used quite as ex- 



POULTRY 



237 



tensively as beef and pork. Doctors tell us that 
we should be far healthier if we replaced a large 
portion of our beef and pork diet by good 
poultry and mutton. An increased supply of 







PLYMOUTH ROCK. 



strictly high-class poultry in our markets would 
lead to an appreciation of what good poultry 
really is, and consequently a greatly increased 
market demand would be the result. 

There is perhaps no stock on the farm which 
yields a higher relative profit for the food 
consumed than do the hens, and consequently, 
if they are economically fed and managed, the 



238 



A COUNTRY READER 



return from them will be proportionately in- 
creased. Most poultry products in the United 
States are raised as secondary crops on the 
farms. But there are many farms which are 




LIGHT BEAUMA. 



devoted exclusively to the raising of eggs and 
fowls for the markets, not to mention the estab- 
lishments which make a special business of rais- 
ing fowls for show purposes. 

The ordinary barnyard fowls can obtain prac- 
tically their entire living about the farm, pro- 
vided they are not kejpt in greater numbers than 



POULTRY 



239 




CQ 

H 
O 

a 

'A 

< 

h3 



240 , A COUNTRY READER 

the farm will support. These barnyard chickens 
are hardy and vigorous, are accustomed to shift- 
ing for themselves, and yield a fair return in 
eggs and birds for the table. They respond well 




BUFF COCHIN. 



to good treatment, and it has been said that one 
cannot wish for a better foundation upon which 
to establish a strain of high-grade, profitable 
birds. 

The standard breeds have been brought to a 
high development by skillful selection, manage- 
ment, and care. In consequence, they suffer 
from neglect more than the common-bred fowls. 
Unless, therefore, we are prepared to give these 



POULTRY 241 

highly bred strains special care, it is not wise to 
keep them. 

There are certain seasons of the year when 
fresh eggs are scarce and consequently they then 
sell at high prices (often from 4 to 6 cents apiece 
is willingly j)aid for first-class fresh eggs). In 
order, therefore, to obtain the benefits of these 
prices, the poultry should be so managed that the 
hens will lay at the season of the year when eggs 
are bringing a high price. This is accomplished 
by having the chicks hatched early in the year, 
and then seeing that they are specially fed, 
warmly housed, and protected from damp and 
cold winds. 

Then, too, the returns from the hens can be 
increased by keeping only hens which will lay a 
large number of eggs during the year. The 
average for a good laying hen is 100 eggs per 
year. But by selecting and rearing chicks only 
from those hens which lay the greatest number 
of eggs, the average yield can be gradually in- 
creased. In this way strains have been bred 
which average 200 and even more eggs per year. 
It costs no more to feed and care for a hen which 
lays 200 eggs during the year than it does to 
feed and care for one which lays only 100 during 
the same period. It is easy to see, therefore, 
that the profit from a flock of the former fowls 
will be more than doubled. 



242 A COUNTRY READER 

The secret of successful poultry keeping is 
cleanliness. This refers more to the condition 
of the buildings and yards where poultry are 
kept and the food and drink which are given 
them than to the hens themselves. The hens 
will keep themselves clean if they are given the 
chance. A good " dust bath " will enable them 
to keep off the vermin which otherwise will 
infest them. It is a common sight to see chick- 
ens dusting themselves, by shaking the dust 
through their featliers.- This dusting kills any 
vermin which may be on them. If the vermin 
are numerous and troublesome, sulphur mixed 
with the dust will make the bath more efficient. 

Housing 

When it comes to the house and yards, how- 
ever, the hens cannot help themselves. We must 
do that for them. The droppings must be re- 
moved daily, and the interior walls of the build- 
ing must be kept free from vermin by frequent 
white-washing. The worst enemies of poultry 
are the small mites which infest the houses and 
which get on the hens during the night while 
they are roosting. The mites multiply with 
almost inconceivable rapidity and, if not de- 
stroyed, will soon fill every crevice in the house. 
These parasites keep the chickens weak and 



POULTRY 243 

thin, and render them unfit for tlie tahle or for 
laying. 

The only way to keep the houses free from 
vermin is to prevent them from obtaining a foot- 
hold, and this can only be done by having every- 
thing kept thoroughly clean. The perches should 
be made so that they can be taken down and 
scrubbed. The henhouse should have as few 
cracks and crevices as possible. 

The food given to the chickens should be clean 
and sweet. Sour food or "slops" are unwhole- 
some, and are often the means of bringing fowls 
into such poor condition that they fall easy vic- 
tims of disease. The water should always be 
fresh and clean. There is no more sure way of 
making fowls unhealthy than to give them un- 
clean water to drink. The water vessels should 
be cleaned constantly, and they should be so 
arranged that the fowls are not able to get into 
the water. A satisfactory pattern consists of a 
closed vessel with a small opening at the lower 
end from which and around which a small lip 
projects. This arrangement allows only a small 
quantity of water to escape at a time — just 
sufficient to fill the lip, thus insuring a constant 
supply of clean water; no sooner is the li]3 
emptied than a fresh supply runs in from the 
body of the vessel. These vessels are made of 
tin or earthenware. 



244 A COUNTRY READER 

These drinking vessels must be scalded at fre- 
quent intervals, because dirt or food which is 
always to be found clinging to the beaks of the 
fowls will drop into the water in the lip whenever 
the birds drink. This dirt gets into the body 
of the vessel and renders the contents unwhole- 
some by turning the water sour. Many poultry 
keepers object to these closed vessels on account 
of the difficulty in keeping them clean. 

We have said that the poultry houses should 
be kept clean, and free from vermin. Perhaps 
we should have said first that the fowls should 
be comfortably housed. That is, the houses 
should be so constructed that the birds may be 
kept warm in winter and dry during wet weather. 
Damp and draughty quarters are responsible for a 
great many of the troubles which afflict poultry. 
The buildings should, then, be placed on high 
and dry ground, and above all where the sun 
can shine on them. It is a great mistake to 
place the poultry houses in some dark corner in 
order to get them out of the way, as is so often 
done. Another important point to be observed 
in placing the poultry house is to detach it from 
the barn or stable. The poultry house should 
stand alone. 

There are manv reasons for this, chief of which 
is the necessity for plenty of sunlight. This is 
impossible if the poultry are housed in the barn. 



POULTRY 245 

Then, too, it is impossible to keep the hens clean 
in the barn, and should the quarters become in- 
fested with vermin the horses and other animals 
are likely to become infected. 

It is important that the perches should not be 
placed too high above the floor. A height of 
two or two and one-half feet is ample, and all 
the perches should be of the same distance from 
the floor. At this height the fowls can fly up 
and down without danger of injuring them- 
selves. By having all the perches the same 
height above the floor, there will be no crowding 
on the highest perch, which otherwise is sure to 
occur, as hens seem instinctively to try to get on 
the highest point above ground when at rest. 
This is undoubtedly a trait inherited from their 
remote ancestors, which had to seek the highest 
points at night in order to be secure from their 
enemies, the wolves, foxes, and other animals. 

A very good method of housing poultry is by 
means of movable houses, which can either be 
built on the farm or purchased from the makers 
at small cost. These houses are so built that 
they can be moved from place to place. They 
contain a shelter underneath as a protection 
against rain and wind, which also acts as a dust 
bath. The nest boxes can be reached from the 
outside, so that the eggs can be taken without 
going inside the house. The perches are broad, 



246 A COUNTRY READER 

and placed within two feet of the floor. The 
floor is in two parts, so that from time to time 
it can be taken up and well scrubbed. The house 
is freely ventilated from the top, and well lighted 
by windows. Moving these houses about from 
place to place prevents any one stretch of land 
being fouled, — a matter so essential to the 
chickens' health and the well-being of the 
land. 

Fowls that are not too thick on the ground 
will, by their droppings, manure the land. They 
will keep down insects and spread about the 
droppings of farm animals, scratch up moss, and 
aerate the roots of the good grasses. 

Movable houses can be taken about the fields, 
placed on the plowed land and stubble, and in 
the summer the fowls housed in them will, if not 
placed too thick on the ground, nearly find their 
own living. 

As regards the housing, each farmer must be 
guarded by the conditions in which he is placed. 
But, as we have seen, the principal points to be 
aimed at are light, good ventilation, cleanli- 
ness and absence of draughts, a good dry floor, 
perches broad and fixed firmly but not too high 
from the floor, and the house must be kept free 
from vermin. The fowls must also have plenty 
of shelter from the sun, rain, and wind, and 
dusting baths must be provided. 



POULTRY 247 

Feeding 

Poultry can be kept with great advantage 
where there is a dairy, as the skim milk and 
buttermilk when mixed with meal form an 
excellent and strengthening food. 

On a fruit farm fowls will greatly assist in 
keeping down insect pests, and during most of 
the season the hens may have free range without 
doing any injury to the orchard. Plum growers 
have found poultry very useful in keeping down 
their especial enemy, the curculio, and apple 
growers have found fowls beneficial about the 
trees. 

When small fruits are forming and ripening 
the fowls must be kept away from them ; but 
during the greater part of the year the fowls 
will do good work in clearing off insects. 

Waste fruits will be very acceptable to the 
fowls in winter or summer. The waste from 
the vegetable gardens forms excellent food for 
the hens, as they need green food to keep them 
in good condition. Unsalable lettuces, cabbages, 
beets, carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, or other grains 
which for some reason cannot be marketed can 
be converted by the fowls into profit. 

The best grain food for poultry — especially 
laying hens — is oats, crushed if possible. At 
one time corn was the universal grain food for 



248 A COUNTRY READER 

poultry, but experience has shown that corn is 
far too fattening to secure the best results. Large 
quantities of corn fed to fowls will often make 
them so fat that they become disinclined to lay. 
Wheat is a good grain to feed, but on the 
whole does not produce such satisfactory results 
as crushed oats or rolled oats. 

In feeding any kind of grain, it is best to 
scatter it widely among straw or other litter, 
so that the fowls will have to Avork hard to 
find it. This gives them exercise, which is so 
necessary to keep them in good health. 

Meat is also not only a good food, but practi- 
cally a necessity, if the hens are to be kept in 
good condition. Meat scraps can be obtained 
from the butchers or slaughterhouses and should 
be given two or three times a week. Ground 
bones are excellent. These supply lime for 
making eggshells. Cracked oyster shells may 
also be fed for this purpose. 

In addition, as we have already seen, green 
food is necessary. Where the fowls have a free 
run during the summer they will find a sufficient 
supply of green stuff, but where they are confined 
it must be supplied to them every day. Alfalfa, 
clover, and lawn clippings are excellent for 
poultry. It is best to have two or more runs, 
and then by changing the fowls from one to the 
other the green stuff will have a chance to grow 



POULTRY 249 

and thus give a continuous supply of green food. 
Turnips, beets, and other tubers make good food 
for the poultry, and may be fed either raw or 
cooked with the morning mash. 

How Fowls digest Food 

A fowl takes in food by its beak ; thence 
down the gullet the food jDasses into the gizzard 
or stomach, where it is partly broken up or di- 
gested, and from the stomach it is passed into the 
intestines, which complete the digestion. The 
blood then takes ujd and circulates the digested 
food, and builds it into the fowl's bone, fat, and 
tissue. 

In the gullet there is a large bag called a crop. 
Large quantities of food are taken in and stored 
in the crop ; but no digestion takes place there, 
the food being simply stored and softened by the 
bird's saliva. The bird then diQ;ests the store in 
its crop at leisure. 

You can understand w^hen the wild fowl were 
surrounded on all sides by enemies it was far 
safer for them, when they did find food, that it 
should be swallowed at once and digested at 
leisure in some place of safety. 

If they had to pick their food and chew it as 
they took it, they would be more exposed to 
danger, and would run a greater chance of being 
killed by their enemies, 



250 A COUNTRY READER 

For the same reason, namely, as a means of 
safety, cows, oxen, antelopes, goats, and sheep 
developed, when in their wild state, a formation 
of stomach which enabled them rapidly to take 
in a store of food, and then, retiring to a place 
of safety, quietly chew it up at leisure, — " chew- 
ing the cud," as it is termed. 

The gizzard of a fowl, as you know, is a large, 
fleshy, thick substance supplied with two horny 
pads ; these horny pads rub against each other 
and grind the food just as millstones grind 
wheat. 

Fowls swallow small stones to help these 
horny pads to grind their food more thoroughly, 
and therefore, if the run does not naturally 
possess a supply of the necessary small stones, 
the poultry keeper must supply them. The 
gizzard and the stones do the work of teeth. 

Do Fowls Pay? 

By close observation, careful selection, and 
experienced management fowls can be made to 
pay, but not otherwise. 

The first rule is to obtain a strain of jDoultry 
suitable to your land and suitable to supj)ly the 
wants of the market closest to you. 

If you wish to produce eggs alone, you must, 
in the first instance, obtain a laying strain 
that do not want to sit. Then your hens must 



POULTRY 



251 



lay eggs at a time when eggs are scarce and dear, 
namely, in the winter and early spring. 

To obtain these early eggs your chickens must 
be hatched out early in the year, so that they 
will begin to lay during the winter and spring 
months. This of course means a great deal of 




INCUBATOR. 



care and trouble. But that care and trouble will 
be repaid by the extra price which the eggs laid 
in the cold months will bring. 

Where only the non-sitting strains of laying 
hens are kept, other breeds must be kept to 



252 



A COUNTRY READER 



hatch the chicks or the eggs must be artificially 
incubated. The latter method is usually 
employed, because it can be used at any time. 
If hens alone are relied upon for sitting, it 
may be often difficult to find a " broody " one, 
or one who wishes to sit. Incubators are 
machines which keep the eggs warm — at a 
constant temperature, just as the hen does when 




AN OUT-DOtjR BROuDEK. 



she sits on them. It requires much skill and 
patience to succeed with incubators. Then, too, 
when the chicks are hatched, the greatest 
difficulties really begin, because the incubator- 
hatched chicks have no mother hen to keep them 
warm and to scratch for them. The 3^oung 
chickens require great care and trouble, for 
they must be kept warm and carefully fed 
until they have reached an age and size to 
care for themselves. But when all the diffi- 



POULTRY 253 

ciilties have been patiently overcome, the arti- 
ficial hatching and rearing of chickens are by 
far the most profitable. 

After one has obtained a good laying strain, 
he must, in addition — and this is important — 
still further improve the laying powers of his 
birds by " setting " only the eggs of those hens 
that lay the greatest number of eggs. 

By thus setting the eggs and rearing the 
chickens of your best-laying hens, and, season 
by season, carefully following out this law of 
selection, it is almost impossible to say to what 
pitch of egg-laying perfection in a few years 
your hens may reach. 

It is said that to obtain the best egg-laying 
results, no hen ought to be kept longer than 
two years. After she is two years old she falls 
off in the number she lays, although the eggs 
she does lay are probably larger and better 
flavored. 

Here is another important point to be consid- 
ered. Supposing you possess a well-bred strain 
of hens, and by your own selection each hen has 
reached a power of laying a much greater quan- 
tity of eggs than the usual hen lays, then your 
strain becomes noted and valuable and can be 
sold at fancy prices. 

It is far more profitable to keep a few hens, 
on sound business and scientific principles, than 



254 A COUNTRY READER 

to keep a much greater number when these 
principles are neglected. 

Be careful to collect the eggs every morning, 
so that they are clean and free from spot and 
stain. 

All agricultural produce that is sent to mar- 
ket in a clean and fresh condition brings a bet- 
ter price than produce which has been marketed 
with less care. 

Instead of sending your eggs to a central 
store or .dealer to be graded and packed for the 
markets, it will be more profitable to supply 
private customers, for you will not only save 
the profits of the commission merchant or 
" middleman," but you will always be sure of 
a profitable and steady demand for your eggs. 
But if reliable and steady customers who will 
take all the eggs you can suj^ply cannot be 
obtained, then select reliable business men to 
market your produce to the best advantage in 
the large cities. It would be well if we could 
have central cooperative establishments, pat- 
terned after the Danish cooperative stores, to 
which the farmers could ship their eggs and 
have them graded and packed to suit the 
requirements of the various markets. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE DOG 

The Wild Dog 

Dogs have been domesticated for such a long 
time that the distinct strain of the dog family 
from which they have originated is not known 
with certainty. Some writers think that our 
domesticated dogs are direct descendants of the 
wild wolves and jackals, to whom they are 
closely related. 

There are wild dogs in existence. In Aus- 
tralia these wild dogs are called "dingoes," and 
in India they are called " dholes." It is said 
that these wild dogs are descendants from do- 
mesticated dogs which have reverted to the 
wild type. But whether this is true or not is 
still an open question. The wild dogs live in 
packs or communities. 

We are therefore quite safe in saying that 
the ancestors of our domesticated dogs lived in 
communities or packs. And in order that they 
might live in these packs to the best advan- 
tage to themselves, they were compelled to obey 
certain well-understood dog laws. 

255 



256 A COUNTRY READER 

If you think, you will at once understand 
that all animals that lived in herds, flocks, or 
packs were obliged to obey certain laws if the 
race was to live and not die out. 

To be successful in hunting their prey, in 
defending themselves against their enemies, in 
protecting and rearing their offspring, a set of 
rules was a necessity. 

A number of dogs w^orking in harmony 
and rendering each other mutual aid would 
have a much better chance of obtaining a 
supply of food than a single dog hunting for 
itself. 

Moreover, a single dog hunting alone would 
have a poor chance of running down and kill- 
ing an animal much bigger than itself. 

But the largest animal, possessing the most 
formidable horns, the hardest kick, or the 
sharpest and largest teeth, would have small 
hope of escape with a pack of hungry dogs, 
yapping and barking all around, just waiting 
for an opportunity to rush in. 

Then think how much better chance a pack 
of dogs have of finding and keeping their scent 
than a single dog. One dog loses the scent, 
another dog picks it up, and with tongue and 
wagging tail tells the other dogs of his happy 
find. 

Then the searching, spreading dogs gather 



THE BOG 257 

together at the jo^'ful, well-understood signal, 
and with noses to the ground and tails in the 
air, away they go, fast on the trail of the 
unlucky animal they are hunting. 

Any one who has ever watched a pack of fox- 
hounds at work, and is gifted with a slight 
imagination, can picture the working of a pack 
of wild dogs, the wild ancestors of these fox- 
hounds. 

At a word from the huntsman, with tails in 
the air, they spread themselves over the covert 
in search- of the strongi: scent of the fox. At 
first no whimper is heard, not a note, all is 
silent, save for the cracking; of twio^s and 
occasional call of the huntsman's voice. Then 
one keen dog pauses, sniffs quickly and ear- 
nestly, his tail quivering with emotion, a signal 
that the scent is near, but that he has not 
quite got on it yet. At last he j)icks it up, 
and with note and tail gives the well-under- 
stood signal to the pack. And the spread pack 
gathers gladly from all parts of the covert 
to get on the scent that the fortunate dog has 
found. 

You can see what a much better chance a 
wild pack of dogs had of obtaining their prey 
if they gave each other mutual help in search- 
ing for the scent, and gave a joyful note when 
the scent was found. 



258 



A COUNTRY READER 




to 

Q: 
Z' 
3 . 

o: 

tn: 
1^- 



THE DOG 259 

Expressions of a Dog's Tail 

How varied are the emotions betrayed in' a 
dog's tail ! It tells of joy and pain, of fiercest 
anger or deepest affection ; whether the dog 
feels shame or self-respect ; whether he is bnb- 
bling over with strength and spirits or over- 
come with weariness or fatigue ; whether the 
scent is near or is found; whether the prey is 
just within reach of mouth and claw. 

Then watch two dogs — strangers to each 
other — walk round and take stock of each 
other. At other times Avatch how, at a distance, 
they will lie down and point at each other, and 
then rigidly arise and very slowdy and carefully 
advance. After having come up to each other, 
very proud and erect, they will, depending on 
whether they are naturally friendly or antago- 
nistic, have a rough and tumble, or pass on with 
the utmost unconcern. You can read it all in a 
dosr's tail. 

Every movement and habit that we observe 
in our domesticated animals had its beocinnino; 
in the ways and habits of their wild ancestors. 

And these ways and habits, remember, in 
their turn had their beginnings because they 
w^ere of some use to tlie wild race that acquired 
them. 

Man observed the habits of the animals when 



260 A COUNTRY READER 

in their wild state, or he captured and tamed 
the young of the wild animals, and then after- 
ward found out the ways that were natural to 
them. In order to make the animals most ser- 
viceable to him, man either modified or very 
strongly developed the wild traits which he 
found. 

Why Dogs are Sociable 

Dogs, as you have just read, evidently lived in 
packs. Experience had taught the race of wild 
dogs that union meant strength, meant beating 
off their enemies, meant a better chance of 
obtaining a bit of sheep, deer, or even some 
other larger animal for supper. But when the 
prey was pulled down and killed, mutual help 
was at an end. Every dog for himself was then 
the rule; so each dog crammed and bolted 
the utmost amount of food he could swallow, 
without any regard for the other dogs of the 
pack. 

Where two or more dogs, especially young 
dogs, are kept together, they will swallow their 
food more rapidly than is the case where one 
dog is kept alone. It would seem that, when 
the dogs are together, the old instinct to bolt 
their food as ra23idly as possible shows itself 
very distinctly. 

The wild dogs, living in packs, had in a 



THE DOG 2Gl 

measure to give and take, had to learn a rude 
sort of obedience to the dog laws, and had 
to render at least a partial obedience to the 
leader of the pack. 

Any dog of the pack that through an unruly 
disposition would not obey, or any dog that 
through a deficiency of strength and cunning 
could not obey, was soon cast out of dog society 
as beino; unfit to live. 

So you can see at once that this made a dog 
inclined to be a sociable animal, and, therefore, 
he had not much trouble in adapting himself to 
the superior social ways of man. 

Speaking generally, all animals that live in 
packs and flocks are more easily domesticated 
than those animals or birds that live a solitary 
existence, or live in pairs. 

The cat and tiger tribe, which in their wild 
state live in pairs, are more difficult to domes- 
ticate than the dog tribe, which live in packs. 

The barks and growls of a dog that j^i'otects 
our houses are due to the old wild instinct that 

guarded the lair of the pack. 

The yells, barks, and shrieks of a dog in dis- 
tress, that will bring around all otVier dogs within 
hearing distance, and the bark of a watch dog, 
that sets all the other dogs within hearing bark- 
ing in their turn, are due to the old instinct of 
dogs in packs barking for help or in defiance. 



262 A COUNTRY READER 

The spaniel rushing through brambles and 
undergrowth is following the old instinct of 
hunting. 

The rounding of the flock by the sheep dog, 
and running them in any direction that his 
master may direct, is a wild kind of hunting 
with the killing at the end almost stamped out. 

May not the jDause of the pointer when he 
stops and points, as soon as the smell of the 
partridge or quail on the air reaches him, be 
the old instinct, highly developed, of the pause 
that a wild dog makes in order to give him the 
final strength necessary to jump with rapidity 
and accuracy upon his prey ? Was not the 
obedience of the dog to his master first learned 
when the wild dog was compelled to obey the 
leader of the pack ? 

The keen sense of smell that enables a terrier 
to gallop at breakneck speed on the track of a 
rabbit, that enables the pointer to " nose " on 
the air the scent of the hidden partridge, that 
enables a bloodhound to track man by the 
scent arising from his footsteps, — were not all 
these wonderful powers of smell first impressed 
on our dog's ancestors when their very existence 
depended on this keen and accurate sense. 

Man has taken all these natural instincts and 
trained them to be of service to him, until the 
dog has become his close and useful companion. 






THE DOG 263 

There are many ways and habits in the 
animals that are about you that will interest 
you, if you will only observe them with kindness 
and sympathy in your heart. And the more 
you know of them the more they will interest 
you, and the greater will be your success in 
rearing and keeping them. 

Different Beeeds of Dogs 

It would take far too much space in a short 
Reader to describe all the different breeds of 
dogs. 

We can only briefly refer to those in most 
general use in this country. 

In general, we may divide the breeds of dogs 
into six classes, depending upon the distinct uses 
for which they have been developed. 

1. Hunting Dogs. 

2. Watch Dogs. 

3. Draught Dogs. 

4. Sheep Dogs. 

5. Life-saving Dogs. 

6. Toy Dogs. 

Hunting Dogs. — There are two classes of 
hunting dogs, — those used only in the chase, 
and those used for locating and retrieving the 
game. Among the first class are the Foxhound, 
Deerhound, Greyhound, Fox Terrier, and Dachs- 
hund. 



264 A COUNTRY READER 

Of the second class we have the Pointer, 
Setter, Retriever, and Spaniel. 

Foxhound. — This dog has been most carefully 
bred ; it is said to be the most perfect specimen 
of the dog race. It is built so as to combine 
sj^eed with great powers of endurance or staying 
qualities, and is used in packs for the chase 
after wild foxes, which it runs down by scent 
and kills. 

Deerhound. — This breed is somewhat larger 
and heavier than the foxhounds, and is used in 
hunting deer. In most parts of America the 
hunting of deer with hounds is prohibited on 
account of the rapidity with which the wild 
deer are being killed. 

Greyhound. — This is one of the oldest breeds 
of dogs knowm. There are several varieties, but 
all have the same general type, being very tall, 
slender, and built to combine speed and strength. 
In America the greyhound is used solely for 
hunting rabbits, which it runs down and kills. 

Fox Terrier. — The fox terrier is a very popu- 
lar dog, both in England and America. He is 
quick, alert, and affectionate. He is ready to 
fight or jump on your lap ; ready to follow on 
the trail of a rabbit, or to lie sound asleep on 
the mat, yapping in his dreams, as he goes 
over in his mind the latest chase or fight ; 
ready to try conclusions wdth the biggest cat 



THE DOG 



265 



of the neighborhood, or, with a knack learned 
from experience, to kill rats so rapidly one after 
the other that at last he drops down from 
sheer exhaustion. 

The fox terrier was originally bred to rnn 
with a pack of foxhounds, so that when the 




COURSING GBETHOTTND. 



fox goes to earth the fox terrier disappears in 
search of him, and when he finds him, he is 
taught not to close, but to stand barking till 
fox and docji; are duo; out. 

Dachshioid. — The word " Dachshund " is de- 
rived from the German, and translated into 
English means '^ badger hound." The '' dachs- 



266 A COUNTRY READER 

hund " is a badger dog and is used in Germany 
for badger hunting. The breed is characterized 
by a very long body and short, stubby legs. 
These dogs can therefore follow the badger 
into his burrow, and are trained for this |)ur- 
pose. They make very good watch dogs, being 
alert and active. They are also very faithful 
to their masters, but have the reputation of 
being somewhat cross with children. 

Pointe7\ — This dog, it is said, came originally 
from Spain and France. It was introduced 
into England about the year 1720. The old 
type of pointer was much heavier and clumsier 
than the present-day re23resentatives of the 
breed. 

In England the pointer is used solely for 
pointing or standing game. In America and 
Canada he is trained to retrieve and fetch as 
well as to point. 

Pointers are very intelligent and may be 
taught many tricks and feats with compara- 
tive ease. They are exceedingly docile and 
affectionate. 

Setters. — This breed takes its name from its 
original habit of setting or crouching when it 
scented game. Setters are now, however, trained 
to stand rigid when they have found game, or 
" to point " as does the pointer. In size, in 
intelligence, in general disposition, as well as in 



THE DOG 



267 




POINTER. 




SETlt-K. 



268 



A COUNTRY READER 



action in the field, the setter is very much like 
the j)ointer. The only real difference is in the 
length of hair. Pointers are short-haired and 
smooth, while setters have long and curly 
hair. 

There are three varieties of setters : the Irish, 
which is of a mahogany-red color ; the Gordon, 




CURLY COATED RETRIEVER. 



which is black with tan markings; and the 
English, which is black, tan, and white, or 
white and black. 

Retriever. — Any dog which is trained to re- 
trieve or fetch game, after it is shot by the 
hmiter, is a retriever. But there has been de- 
veloped a strain of dogs which are exceptionally 
fitted for this work, and to this strain the name 
retrievers has been given. 

The retriever is a good-looking, all-round, 
sagacious dog, and makes an excellent comjoan- 



THE DOG 269 

ion ; one variety has a curly coat, another has 
its coat flat or wavy. 

This dog should have a kindly and sensible 
look in his face, for the work that be is put to 
requires more cleverness than that of most other 
sporting dogs. 

SjxmieL — This is a delightful dog. The 
variety known as the clumber spaniel is a 
favorite. This dog is long and massive in the 
body, with a long silky coat, short in the leg, 
ears that are long and flapping, white in color, 
with liver or lemon markings on the head and 
ears. 

The clumber is a good water dog and a most 
useful dog for sporting purposes. He works 
about twent}^ yards in front of the gun at a 
steady trot or slow, hard gallop. He is trained 
to stand or drop with a movement of the hand, 
or at the moment that the gun goes off, or when 
the game is flushed and flies. This dog will 
also retrieve game. 

The spaniel is a slow dog, but does not tire 
easily. Spaniels make very good pet dogs. 
There are several varieties of small spaniels, 
useful only as toy or lap dogs. 

Watch Dogs. — As the term implies, the dogs 
of this class are used for purposes of protection. 
They may serve this purpose in two ways : 
they may be strong and ferocious^ and thus be 



270 



A COUNTRY READER 



able to attack the invader ; or they may be alert 
and watchful, barking at the apj^roach of an 
intruder, thus arousing their masters. Any dog 
may be a good watch dog, but there are certain 




AIASTIFF. 



breeds which possess qualifications of strength, 
ferocity, and alertness, and which therefore are 
specially fitted to serve as watch dogs. 

Among the breeds so constituted are the Mas- 
tiffs, Great Danes, Newfoundlands, Bulldogs, 
Bull Terriers, and Irish Terriers. 

The mastiff is a very old breed. These dogs 
are very large and powerful, being easily capa- 



THE DOG 



271 



ble of overthrowing and overcoming even a 
strong man. 

The great Danes are also very large and 
powerful dogs. They have a slate-gray color and 
are taller than the mastiffs, but not so heavily 
built. 

The Neiofoundlands are large, shaggy dogs 
of a jet-black color, with white or tan mark- 




GREAT DA.M,. 



ings on the breast. They are great favorites 
in America, and make good companions as 
well as watch dogs. They are very powerful 
and brave. They become deeply attached to 
their masters and as a rule are very fond of 
children. 



272 



A COUNTRY READER 



The breed is supposed to have come from the 
island of Newfoundland, where they are used 
to draw small carts. 

The Newfoundlands are strong swimmers. 
Their long, powerful paws, with weblike skin 




newfoum)1.an:> dog. 



between the toes, make them specially fitted for 
swimming. They are known to have saved 
many human beings from drowning. 

The hidldog is not a large dog, but very 
powerfully built, and ferocious and brave when 
roused. He was formerly used in the old-time 
sport of bull baiting, therefore strength of jaw, 
ferocity, and tenacity were necessary qualities. 
The bulldog does not make friends readily, but 
he becomes greatly attached to his master. 



THE DOG 



273 



The hull terrier, being a cross between the 
bulldog and the fox terrier, resembles the bulldog 
in many ways, but is much more active and 
uncertain in temper. 

The Irish terrier is a plucky, handy dog, good 
tempered to his master, but somewhat inclined 




->--*w 



BUl-LDOG. 



to look upon all other dogs as his natural enemies, 
and to fight whenever he gets the chance. His 
coat is wire-haired, somewhat long, and is reddish 
brown in color. 

Draught Dogs. — By this we mean dogs which 
are used for drawing loads. You have read 
that m the island of Newfoundland the dogs 
which bear the island's name are used to draw 
small carts or sleds, laden with wood, fish, or 
other articles. 

In Arctic regions dogs are used for dragging 
sleds over the great snow and ice fields. The dogs 



274 



A COUNTRY READER 



are light and consequently do not sink into the 
snow, as would horses or other heavy draught 
animals. 

The Arctic dogs are called Eskimo dogs, and 




ESKIMO DOG. 



have very thick, bushy coats, with small eyes 
set obliquely. They have thus a decidedly 
wolfish appearance. In Alaska these dogs have 
been of great value to miners and explorers. 

Shee2:) Dogs. — We now come to the sheep 
dogs, the most intelligent and the most useful 
of all our dogs. 



THE DOG 275 

Have you ever though t that m many parts of 
the Avorld, and in parts of this country, it would 
be impossible to rear sheep if there were no 
sheep dogs ? 

In the Highlands of Scotland and many 
other mountainous regions, and in countries 
where there are huge flocks of sheep scattered 
over thousands of acres of poor soil, as in some 
parts of Australia^ where five acres will support 
only one sheep, the sheep dog is an absolute 
necessity. 

Without a dog it would require more money 
spent in labor to manage a flock of sheep, 
gather tliem from the hills, force them into their 
folds, and drive them to market, than the whole 
flock would be worth. 

In this country the sheep dog drives the sheep 
before him, but in some countries the sheep 
follow the shepherd, and the dogs simply defend 
their flocks against beasts of prey and robbers. 

In South America the sheep follow the dog, 
and this is how it has been accomplished : — 

When the dog is quite a puppy it is taken 
from its mother and placed with a sheep mother, 
wdio rears it amidst the other sheep as she 
would her own lamb. The dog, when grown up, 
shows no desire to leave the flock. The sheep 
get used to the dog, and the dog gets used 
to the sheep ; but, curiously enough, the dog 



276 A COUNTRY READER 

gradually assumes the position of leader of 
the flock. 

Travelers tell us that when one approaches a 
flock of these sheep the dog immediately ad- 
vances, barking, and the flocks close in his rear 
for protection, just as they close in the rear 
of a leading and protecting ram. 

The dog has been trained to come daily to the 
shepherd's house for food, though it may be 
several miles off ; on receiving his food, he 
returns to guard the flock. 

These intelligent dogs have also been taught 
to bring the flock home, without aid from their 
masters. 

The varieties of sheep dog now in most 
general use are the well-known Scotch collie and 
the less-known old English sheep dog, with a 
short stump of a tail, known as the bobtail 
sheep dog. 

The Scotch collie is a wolfish-looking dog^ 
with semi-erect ears and pointed nose. He has 
a long, shaggy coat, black on the main part of 
his body, with white on his breast and legs. 
Around his mouth the hair is shorter and tan- 
colored. The tail is long, covered with long, 
shaggy hair, and is carried in a drooping position. 

In consequence of the sheep dogs being all 
day, and perhaps all night, with their masters, 
who know their own minds and see that what 



THE DOG 



277 



they say is carried out, they have developed 
remarkable intelligence. Every word, look, and 
o-esture of their master is understood and obeyed. 




SCOTCH COLLIE. 



At one word or wave of the hand these clever 
dogs will round and drive to the fold sheep 
scattered over miles of hill and dale, and not one 
will be missing. 

And, what is even more wonderful, they wdll 
turn out any strange sheep that may get with 
their flock. 

How TO TRAIN Sheep Dogs 

In training- dog^s, remember this, never change 
your mind. Be patient, but very firm ; see that 



278 A COUNTRY READER 

you are obeyed, and under no circumstances lose 
your temper. 

If you wish a dog to lie quietly, say, under 
the table or in a corner, so as not to be a bother, 
or to get in the way while you are having your 
meals, always make him go there : don't make 
him lie there one day, and another day call him 
away. 

A certain word and gesture ought to mean 
that he is to perform a certain act. Always, 
then, use the same word and gesture when you 
wish him to do that particular act. 

Dogs are often ruined and made great 
nuisances to themselves and everybody about 
them because their masters or mistresses have 
not strength of will. 

Here is another important j)oint. If you 
wish to keep your dog in good health, don't 
overfeed him ; it is cruel to give a dog too 
much food when he gets little or no exercise. 
It is better for the dog to let him be thin than 
too fat. 

Remember that naturally a dog had to hunt 
most of the day for his dinner, and, when he 
captured it, there was j)robably barely sufficient 
to satisfy him. 

The quantity of food which should be given 
to a dog depends on the size of the dog and 
the amount of exercise he takes; but as a 



THE DOG 279 

rule, one feeding a day is sufficient, and tlien 
only just what the dog will eat np with relish. 

As you know, Ave give off our superfluous 
internal heat by perspiration through the pores 
of our skin, that are situated all over our body ; 
but a dog can perspire only through its tongue. 
Therefore it is of the utmost importance that 
dogs should be able always to get at a plentiful 
supply of fresh water — especially is this neces- 
sary for dogs with long coats, like sheep dogs. 

To neglect giving water to any dog, especially 
a long-haired one, is brutal. The suffering that 
the poor beast must endure on a hot day from 
lack of water is terrible. 

Life-saving Dogs. — In this class we will con- 
sider the fine St. Bernard dogs, which take 
their name from the St. Bernard Pass in the 
Alps, where for many years these noble ani- 
mals were used to rescue travelers who had 
lost their way during the frequent and blinding 
snowstorms which occur in that region. 

The St. Bernard dogs are very large and 
powerful animals, with a long, heavy, and thick- 
set coat. Their color is usually a light brown, 
spotted with white on the breast and legs, and 
sometimes on the main portion of the body.- 

In our country the St. Bernard dogs are 
rather sluggish, owing, no doubt, to the warmer 
climate. Some make .excellent watch dogs, and 



280 



A COUNTRY READER 



they are chiefly used in this country as man's 
companions. 

Toy Dogs. — In this class we have placed 
those dogs which, as the term implies, are 
mainly mere toys. These are the various kinds 







/ ^ 



ST. BERNARD. 



of house and lap dogs, which are often foolishly 
treated and indulged and given attention equal 
to that bestowed upon some children. Some of 
these dogs are kept merely as curiosities, usually 
on account of their diminutive size. We cannot 
do more than mention a few of the most com- 
mon varieties of these toy dogs, and these are 
the Skye Terrier, Pug, Black and Tan, Mexican 
Hairless, and Chihuahua, 



THE DOG 



281 



Skye Terriers, or Scotch Terriers, are small 
dogs, with long, silky coats, which often have 
a silvery sheen. These dogs often serve as ex- 
cellent mousers or rat dogs, so we may consider 
them as something more than mere toy dogs. 

Pug Dogs. — These dogs vary in size. Tliey 
are heavy and thickset for their size, and have 




BLACK PUG. 



a decidedly short and upward turn of the nose, 
hence the name " Pug." They are a light dun 
color with black faces. 

Black and Tan. — These are very small and 
slender dogs, with short, coarse, black hair, and 
tan markings under the mouth and on the neck, 



282 A COUNTRY READER 

breast, and legs. Some of the black and tan 
dogs make good mousers. 

Mexican Hairless. — These dogs are, as indi- 
cated by the name, almost wholly without hair. 
They are about the size of a fox terrier. They 
are only curiosities, and in colder climates are 
very susceptible to cold. They are not what 
might be called attractive in their appearance, 
and besides the curious absence of hair, have 
nothing to recommend them. 

ChiJmaJma. — These very diminutive dogs 
come from the Mexican state of Chihuahua. 
They are not more than six or eight inches 
long, small enough to rest with comfort in one's 
coat pocket. They are usually white, with 
very short coats. They are useful only as 
toys or pets. 



CHAPTER X 



THE CAT 



The domesticated cat is a most useful animal. 
Her usefulness is not fully appreciated, but Ave 
could not dispense with her without much loss 
to the community. 

Perhaps there is no devastation more appall- 
ing to the farmer than a plague of rats, mice, 




HOCSE CAT. 




WILD CAT. 



and gophers. The cat not only kills a number 
of these pests, but her very presence tends to 
keep them away from the buildings and fields, 
for they soon know whether the cat is a clever 
hunter or not. 

If a house is beset with mice, the introduction 
of a cat, if she be a clever mouser, will soon 

283 



284 



A COUNTRY READER 





^ 




?■ : 




■W\ 






. .!^];^'; 



effect a clearance, the mice thinking it wiser to 
go elsewhere. 

The loss every year by the depredations of 
rats, mice, gophers, ground squirrels, and other 

vermin in fields, build- 
ings, and granaries, is 
enormous. We are in 
the habit of underrat- 
ing this loss, because 
the vermin work so 
gradually that their 
presence is not felt 
until considerable dam- 
age has been done. 
Farmers, as a rule, 
do not appreciate the 
good work certain 
birds and beasts of prey do for them in de- 
stroying the creatures which do so much harm. 

The owls and hawks destroy rats, mice, and 
other vermin, and therefore, if they are not in 
too great numbers, they are of considerable bene- 
fit to the farmer. 

There can be no doubt that with the destruc- 
tion of the birds of prey, especially the owl, the 
depredations of rats, mice, and other vermin in- 
crease. If, however, the vermin are to be kept 
in check, it is essential that a few good cats 
should be kept about a farm, not the highly 




CANADA LYNX. 



THE CAT 285 

bred pet cats that hardly know how to catch 
a mouse, and will not face a rat when they 
see one, but cats that come from a good strain of 
mousers, noted for their pluck and indefatigable 
hunting powers. These cats are often lean, 
underbred-looking animals, somewhat wild in 
their habits, but certainly the best for the 
object in view. 

Some cats have the hunting instinct so highly 
developed that they frequently acquire a strong 
liking for birds and young poultry. If only 
destructive birds were caught, there would be no 
objection — rather the opposite. It would help 
to get rid of some of the farmer's feathered 
enemies. But when a cat develops a taste for 
young poultry, it is time to get rid of her, be- 
cause it is impossible to cure her, and she will 
not cease her depredations until she has de- 
stroyed all the young birds within her reach. 

The Cat Family — Distinctive Character- 
istics 

Lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, pumas, lynxes,- 
and the smaller species of cat are all included in 
the great family of the cats. All this family eat 
flesh, and are therefore called "carnivores." Their 
long, lithe bodies, which combine strength, supple- 
ness, agility, and quickness, are adapted for the 
pursuit and destruction of their living prey. Their 



286 



A COUNTRY READER 



strength and suppleness, in proportion to the 
weight of their body, is so great that they are 
able to drag down and kill animals of far greater 
weight and bulk than their own. In proportion 




THE TlCiEK. 



to their weight, there is probably no animal so 
strong and su|)ple as the members of the cat 
family. 

They are noted for the shortness of their hair 
or fur, and also for their short muzzle ; their 
flesh teeth are very powerful ; their claws work 
in a sheath as a protection and can be drawn in 
and out at will. They have five toes on their 
forefeet, and four toes on their hindfeet. 

All the cat family walk upon their toes, and 
are therefore called digitigrade animals. The 



THE CAT 



287 



hind part of the foot is entirely raised from the 
ground to form a combination of the leg. 

The stealthly and noiseless walk of the cat is 
due to soft cushions or pads on the under surface 
of the foot ; each toe has a separate pad, and 
behind these toe pads they have a large main 




THE LEOPARD. 



pad, which occupies the middle of the sole of the 
foot. The forefoot is furnished with six, and 
the hindfoot with five, foot pads. 

Could any formation of foot be more suitable 
to allow the great cat family to crouch, to lie 
still, to rise and stalk their prey with rapidity, 
without jerk or noise, than this ? 

You can distinguish the impression, or track, 
of the cat on any ground that will receive an 
impression, because that track shows only the 



288 



A COUNTRY READER 



form and number of the pads ; no mark of 
claws is shown, because the claws are always 
withdrawn into the sheaths when the animal is 
moving about. 

A cat only ejects her claws out of their 
sheaths when she is attacking her prey, or 




Compare the marking^s on the tiger's skin and the markings on the kitten. 

when her anger is excited. A dog's track, or 
impression, on the other hand, shows not only 
his pads, but his claws, which are not with- 
drawn into sheaths, being always fixed in the 
same position. 

A cat's tongue is very rough and like a rasp. 
This enables it to lick the meat from the bone, 
and to clean the fur effectively. This may 
be a reason why the fur of a healthy cat is so 



THE CAT 



289 



much cleaner, and smells so much sweeter, than 
the coat of the average dog. A dog's tongue 
is quite smooth. 

The teeth of a dog are adaj)ted for cracking 




-^dyCW^^^')'.:' 



A HANDSOME CAT. 



and breaking bones, which are then gulped do^vn 
and assimilated by a stomach especially suitable 
for that purpose. 

On the other hand, a cat's teeth and 
stomach cannot do this, and so the bones 
of its prey are licked clean by the rough 
tongue. 



u 



290 A COUNTRY READER 

The fur is usually short and suited for bear- 
ing; either cold or heat. 

The tail is long and cylindrical, and capable of 
movement from side to side, curiously like the 
movement of a snake. 

Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of 
the cat family is the bristle-like hairs, known as 
whiskers, that fringe the muzzle. These hairs 
are provided with special nerves, w^hich commu- 
nicate with the brain and which act as delicate 
organs of touch. 

These whiskers help cats in finding their way 
and detecting objects during their nightly wan- 
derings. It is said that if a cat's whiskers can 
pass through a space, its body can follow. 

Consider the delicacy of these nerves of touch 
that are in a cat's whiskers. The whiskers 
themselves are most delicately fine, and so what 
must these nerves be like which communicate 
with the brain and serve a cat so well ? 

As a rule, the cat family kill their own prey by 
the most clever scouting, combined with stalking. 
When seeing their prey, they use every device to 
get within springing distance. They will advance 
a few paces, then crouch, then advance a few 
paces again, then lie perfectly still, taking advan- 
tage of every bit of cover ; or it may be, they 
will lie in ambush, awaiting the approach of their 
prey, until it gets within a certain distance, and 



THE CAT 291 

then they will pounce upon it with a sudden 
rush and sprhig, at the same time driving home 
their terrible claws. If you watch your cat hunt 
a mouse or a bird, you will see all this. 

Where First Domesticated 

The ancient Egyptians tamed and trained the 
wild yellow Kaffir cat of their country. The 
Egyptian fowler is said to have trained this cat, 
so that when he went fowling he took a cat as 
his companion, and it was taught to retrieve 
the bird that dropped to his throw-stick and 
fell amongst the tall grasses of his native 
swamp. 

This cat is supposed to be the parent stock of 
our domesticated cat, but it has probably been 
crossed with the wild cat of the different countries 
into which it was introduced. 

Owing to the cat's uncertain temper, its 
unsociable nature, its propensity to attach 
itself to places rather than to human beings, 
its natural habit of sleeping during the day 
and wandering forth at night in search of 
food, and its other noiseless and sohtary char- 
acteristics, it was not well adapted to become 
man's close companion. 

And as its natural habits made it almost im- 
possible for man to make the cat his companion 



292 A COUNTRY READER 

and friend, he has interfered very little with its 
natural ways and disposition. 

The cat, therefore, still remains partially a 
wild animal, and will, on the sliglitest provo- 
cation, take to a wild life with little difh- 
culty. In other w^ords, it easily reverts back 
to type. Many of the so-called wild cats are 
domesticated cats which have become wild, or 
are the descendants of these reverted cats. 

If a terrier is lost in a w^ood, it is almost as 
helpless as a babe ; but if a cat is lost in a wood, 
it is very quickly at home, and soon loses every 
trace of domestication. 

Domesticated Cat 

A good mousing cat will kill, it is said, ten 
mice a day, and put to flight out of a building a 
vast number more. 

Different breeds of cats are not so marked as 
to size, shape, and habits as are the different 
breeds of dogs. Cats generally differ only in 
color, length of hair, and length of tail. 

Owing to the dog's natural disposition, man 
could train it and use it for several different 
purposes, therefore he bred and selected with 
this object in view ; but owing to the cat's 
natural disposition, he could not utilize it in the 
same ways, and therefore he did not attempt to 
interfere much with its natural characteristics. 



THE CAT 



293 



This is probably the reason why the differences 
between breeds of cats are not so marked as 
those between breeds of dogs. 

There are cats of many different colors and 
markings, but very few distinct breeds. Per- 




PEESIAN CAT. 



haps only two breeds are extensively known 
in America. These are the Maltese and the 
Angora or Persian. 

The Maltese cats are handsome cats of a solid 
bluish gray color. They make good pets, and if 
not too highly fed, are fairly good mousers. 

The Angora or Persian cats are white and have 



294 A COUNTRY READER 

very long hair. The longer the hah^ the more 
highly prized they are. There are some highly 
bred Angora cats with long, curly hair, especially 
about the neck. These cats are not useful as 
mousers. They are kept more as curiosities 
than for any other purpose. 

The different colors of the common domesti- 
cated cats are gray, black, white, sandy or yellow, 
Maltese, tortoise-shell. These colors may be solid 
or in mixture. There being no attempts at sys- 
tematic breeding, there may be all colors and 
markings in the same litter. 

Cats are said to possess limited powers of 
smell. 

In securing its prey, the cat depends on its 
highly developed sight, the exquisite feeling in its 
whiskers, its softness and evenness of movement, 
its clever stalking, the accuracy and suddenness 
of its pounce, and the force and power with which 
it can drive its claws into the body of its victim. 

As has been said, the cat is unsociable, pre- 
ferring to hunt its prey in solitude and generally 
at night. 

Cat and Dog Compared 

The cat and dog have very different ways and 
habits. A cat is usually independent ; a dog, 
dependent. A cat is secretive ; a dog is usually 
open. These different ways and habits are prob- 



THE CAT 295 

ably the result of the different kind of wild life 
their respective wild ancestors were compelled 

to adopt. 

The wild ancestors of the dog, probably wolves 
and jackals, lived in packs, and therefore had to 
obey a rough kind of social dog law. They gave 
each other mutual assistance in the searching, 
finding, running down, and killing of their 
prey ; in guarding their community from harm 
and danger, by means of barks and growls ; and 
by uniting to defend themselves or to attack their 
enemy. They did not attach themselves to places, 
but wandered over large tracts of country, sleep- 
ing where they stopped for tbe night. 

Such a life fixed in the dog certain sociable 
instincts, which, when trained and developed, 
became of the greatest use and pleasure to man. 
Every movement of a dog show^s that he is a 
sociable animal, and that his wild ancestors hved 
in packs : the movements of his tail, his attitude 
w^ien meeting a friendly or strange dog, his 
greedy manner of eating, his great attachment 
to his master and his manner of defending and 
guarding him, the wisdom he wdll show in find- 
ing and returning game, his manner of showing 
joy and fear and other emotions. 

That he did not attach himself to places is 
shown w4ien a dog lies dowm. He will twist 
round and round on a rug, as if he were smooth- 



296 A COUNTRY READER 

ing down the long grass, to make himself a 
comfortable sleeping place for the night. Wolves 
and jackals, when exhausted after their day's hunt, 
wdll smooth the grass down by turning round and 
round, so as to prepare a comfortable bed for 
themselves. 

A dog's manner of digging a hole and burying 
a bone in it is the old ancestral trait, when food 
was scarce and precarious, of laying up the little 
store that was over, against the day when his 
hunting: ended in failure. 

The manner in which a dog will follow his 
master was first learned when the members of a 
pack followed and obeyed the leader of the jDack. 
The spread of a pack of foxhounds through a 
covert, with their tails wagging and quivering, 
as they search for or find the scent, are so many 
signals to the other members of the pack, and 
were first of all acquired when their wild an- 
cestors lived and hunted in communities. 

Dogs living in packs acted with no conceal- 
ment of their doings, hence the desperate haste 
to gobble down the bit of prey they were fortu- 
nate enough to seize, lest another and stronger 
dog of the pack should snatch it away. 

Now consider a cat's habits : — 

A cat seldom or never cares to be in the com- 
pany of other cats ; she prefers to hunt alone, 
and at night ; she attaches herself to a house 
/ 



THE CAT 297 

instead of to her master, showing that the wild 
ancestry attached themselves to a particular spot 
or lair, a cave, a hole in a rock, the hollow of 
some tree, or some other place of safety. Their 
delicacy and slowness in eating prove that they 
took their time to eat their food ; the male, 
female, and young together, not wdth a number 
of other hungry or half-famished cats all around, 
ready to seize on the piece that a fortunate cat 
had been lucky enough to secure. Their great 
natural cleanliness of person and habits were 
acquired so that their lair might be kept sweet 
and clean. 

A cat never hides away a bone like a dog. 

Almost every habit that we observe in our dog 
and cat can be traced to the different methods 
that the families of dogs and of cats were 
respectively compelled to adopt when in a wild 
state in order to make a living and to rear 
their offspring. 



WJ\) 



